November 1st: Committed to helping those in need

Courageous Advocates

This week we are looking at ordinary people who did extraordinary things because they lived out what they believed.  What they achieved continues to influence our lives today through health care, through systems to support the most needy in society and through our education system.

We all have better lives because of them and what they believed!

Today, worship team explored the life of Dr Thomas Barnardo (1845- 1905)

Barnardo set up his first home for destitute boys – later homes for girls would follow. Children had lived like this for a long time if they had no family or carers.  We wondered  what moved Thomas to act in this way and change the way things were done and attitudes towards the poor.

We shared Dr Barnardo’s words to  help us to understand this.

‘I have always felt a positive duty was laid upon me, to stir up the minds of Christian people generally to a greater sense of their responsibility’.

We talked about how Dr Barnardo was a man of vision and action - he did not just see a need, but took immediate steps to address it. 

We talked about how the work of Barnardo's continue to change the lives of children and young people today and finished with this prayer:

Dear God, Thank you for people like Thomas Barnardo. Thank you for people who do not look the other way when someone needs help but instead go out of their way to be helpful.  Please help us to follow good examples, to be people who care and to put our care into action.  AMEN