JHMT CHRISTMAS APPEAL 2021

As we look towards Christmas the James Hannington Memorial Trust highlight projects that we would like to invite the church family to support.
If you wanted to make a donation please contact the church office or see BH news for more details. This year we have 2 projects & they are:
Christmas Appeal Project 1 Off the Fence
Thank you for being prepared to support Off The Fence once more as your Christmas charity for 2021.
​We would like to raise money for sorely needed all-weather sleeping bags for the rough sleepers who will re-appear increasingly as the winter takes hold.
The Council is eking out the funds it has received from Central Government to keep as many as possible in temporary accommodation, but this funding is likely to run out soon. We are allocating resources in order to be able to stockpile as many sleeping bags as we can. This will enable our Antifreeze team to identify individuals most in need. In some cases, this could be a life-saving intervention as 12-15 people still die on the streets of our City every winter from exposure and ill health. We expect there to be in the region of 300-400 rough sleepers in Brighton & Hove this Christmas. The average life expectancy for a rough sleeper is 47 for men and 49 for women. 
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​We normally go for Vango Atlas heavyweight 350 sleeping bags which usually cost at least £17 each as we are offered them at a special end of season price.
​We would like to try and buy at least 100.​

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Project 2 Brighton and Hove City Mission
Our Care Homes team at Brighton and Hove City Mission minister to residents in care homes across our city, many of which suffer from Dementia. Once a person moves into a care home, they tend to have much less access to church. This means that the residents are no longer able to participate in corporate sung worship; something we can all relate to because of the pandemic. The residents feel cut off from their Christian family, they don’t have someone to pray with, take communion with, and they miss out on hearing someone talk about God’s word. These are all things that remind us of who God is and who we are in Him; things that 
bring us hope and strength. Our team is not only aware of those who already know Jesus, but also of those who do not yet know Him. It is a matter of urgency to give those residents the opportunity to know God. Our Care Homes team create services specifically for those who have been cut off from church and have varying degrees of Dementia. Our team has found that singing hymns brings peace and memories resurface for a moment. Our team visits as many homes as possible, often with volunteers from local churches. However, for those homes that the team are unable to get into or for individuals who are unable to come and 
join the service in the communal lounge, our team produces DVDs. Many care homes face a barrier of getting this vital short presentation in front of the residents as they don’t have the equipment to make something so simple possible.
Bev, our Care Homes team leader shares why what our team does is so vital: One resident, we had not met before, had tears running down their face today. They said they rememberedgoing to Sunday school as a child and enjoyed it, but stopped going when they were older. They allowed me to pray for them. We thanked God that He never forgets us even if we forget Him and that the resident would be aware of His love today. This was possibly the first positive Christian experience they had since Sunday school. We have seen a growth in homes we are able to serve despite the pandemic.
We would like to raise money to provide 35 homes with a portable DVD player so residents can listen to the services in their own rooms and bluetooth speakers to aid live worship in the homes. This will cost around £6,000. We understand this is a substantial sum of money but we know what an amazing impact it will have on those care home residents in our city and how gratefully it will be received by the staff in those homes too

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