In 2012 the charity BibleLands changed its name to Embrace the Middle East.
We chose Embrace the Middle East because it described where we worked and we felt it reflected our Christian calling to welcome the stranger, feed the hungry and help the homeless (Matthew 25).
“We also felt that 'embrace' was a very Biblical concept, one that invoked the inclusiveness that goes to the very heart of the Gospel. One paraphrase translation of Jesus’ comments in Mark 9:37 reads: "Whoever embraces one of these children as I do embraces me, and far more than me - God who sent me." The cross at the centre of our new logo emphasises our confidence as a Christian charity.
Research showed that our previous name, BibleLands, conjured up an old-fashioned image and led people to believe that we distributed Bibles or were an overtly evangelistic charity. Indeed, we were often confused with the Bible Society. While all of us at Embrace believe in the importance of the word of God and its dissemination, distribution of Bibles is not part of our charitable purpose, and therefore not something we do.
Supporters, staff and trustees understood the need for a name change, the need for our charity to move with the times and to reach out to new generations of donors, so that our ministry in the Middle East could be even more effective. Although many supporters were very attached to BibleLands, they saw a name change did not reflect a change in our work, and that our ministry of Christian care and compassion in the lands of the Bible would continue - stronger than ever.”
See more at: http://www.embraceme.org
Saturday 30 August 2014
Sunday 3 August 2014
August - Listening Post
It is now more than 20 years since a group of Christian professionals saw the need for an affordable counselling service in the Gloucester area. This has developed over the years and now Listening Post has branches in Gloucester, Cheltenham and Stroud, where almost 70 trained counsellors offer their services without pay. Our reception staff are also volunteers, most of them from local churches.
We have a small group of paid staff, all of whom work part–time; a Chief Executive Officer, a Personal Assistant, three centre co-ordinators, three office managers and a finance officer.
Demand for our service remains high, with 54% referred by GPs, and other NHS professionals. Many of our referrals are people suffering with depression and anxiety and many complex family issues. There are many reasons for this: relationship problems leading to divorce and separation, childhood abuse of all kinds, bullying at school and at work, and redundancy. Among teenagers, there is also the growing threat of cyber bullying and addiction to the internet, and this is causing emotional damage to young people.
Clients find great benefit in being able to talk about and work through these difficulties with a counsellor, and discover a new confidence and energy to live more effectively. They often speak positively about how they have changed and made a new start, and it is tremendously rewarding to see this happen over a period of time. Some clients work for several weeks or months, and sometimes spend over a year in counselling. Others can be helped in just a few sessions.
Our needs at the moment are as follows. For many years our paid staff have existed on very low salaries. Recently the Council of Management decided that we should give all paid staff an increase of 3%. The next step is to set up a pension scheme for them, which we have been unable to do before. And the step after that will be to raise their salaries to an acceptable level.
We would be most grateful for any help you can give towards this target.
We also need more volunteer receptionists, and for people to join our training courses to become counsellors. (See the Listening Post website.)
Yours in Christian fellowship - Sue Ingleby
(Chair of the Council of Management)
We have a small group of paid staff, all of whom work part–time; a Chief Executive Officer, a Personal Assistant, three centre co-ordinators, three office managers and a finance officer.
Demand for our service remains high, with 54% referred by GPs, and other NHS professionals. Many of our referrals are people suffering with depression and anxiety and many complex family issues. There are many reasons for this: relationship problems leading to divorce and separation, childhood abuse of all kinds, bullying at school and at work, and redundancy. Among teenagers, there is also the growing threat of cyber bullying and addiction to the internet, and this is causing emotional damage to young people.
Clients find great benefit in being able to talk about and work through these difficulties with a counsellor, and discover a new confidence and energy to live more effectively. They often speak positively about how they have changed and made a new start, and it is tremendously rewarding to see this happen over a period of time. Some clients work for several weeks or months, and sometimes spend over a year in counselling. Others can be helped in just a few sessions.
Our needs at the moment are as follows. For many years our paid staff have existed on very low salaries. Recently the Council of Management decided that we should give all paid staff an increase of 3%. The next step is to set up a pension scheme for them, which we have been unable to do before. And the step after that will be to raise their salaries to an acceptable level.
We would be most grateful for any help you can give towards this target.
We also need more volunteer receptionists, and for people to join our training courses to become counsellors. (See the Listening Post website.)
Yours in Christian fellowship - Sue Ingleby
(Chair of the Council of Management)
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