Diocese of London Lent Appeal 2021

16 February 2021 by Right Rev Dr Joanne Woolway Grenfell in Serious Youth Violence.

“Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult. On the contrary, repay evil with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing.” 1 Peter 3:9 (NIV)

We know that our world is full of cycles of violence – where one person is hurt or feels slighted, and therefore returns the pain to another in a further act of violence.

To young Londoners who live in challenging or isolating circumstances it can seem that violence is all around. They can find it hard to imagine how to escape from violence in their own lives. They may not know where to turn for support.

Local charities are working with such young people, responding to their needs and addressing the root causes of the violence they experience. They are seeking a new future and a better inheritance for all young people, so that they can thrive and use their many gifts and creative talents to contribute to the common good.

As Christians we believe that in Jesus Christ we see how God’s love overcomes sin and death. We discover that we do not need to keep repaying evil for evil when God has given us the blessing of his love in Jesus Christ. We want every Londoner to know the love of God in Christ Jesus.

In our Lent campaign this year, we are asking for your support, through generous giving, to help young people inherit the blessing of living in safety and peace.

We know that Covid-!9 has made the world even less safe than it already was for many, through isolation, through having to be absent from school, and through precarious finances. As well as making young people less safe, it has also affected their mental health and their life chances.

By supporting the Diocese’s Lent appeal, you will be helping three London youth charities. All three are specialists in working with young people to reduce serious violence and help them live in peace and safety.

It is for this that you were called—that you might inherit a blessing.”

Will you give what you can this Lent to reduce serious youth violence so that our young people can inherit the blessing of living in peace and safety?

GIVE TO THE LENT APPEAL ONLINE HERE

XLP

In 1996, in response to a stabbing in a school playground, the school’s headmaster asked Patrick Regan, who was then a local church-based youth worker, to come into the school, work with their students and teachers and help with difficult behavioural issues. XLP now operates across nine inner-city boroughs around London, working with over 4,500 young people each year through education, mentoring, sport and the arts.

TLG (The Learning Group)

TLG work through a nationwide network of partner churches, and are committed to reaching out to some of the most vulnerable children in the UK. With expertise in school exclusions, emotional wellbeing and holiday hunger, TLG is one of the UK’s fastest growing children’s charities.

Redthread

Redthread embeds specialist youth workers in hospital A&E departments across London and the Midlands. They meet young people during times of crisis, fear and trauma and endeavour to transform their experience of health systems and professional networks. As a result of working with Redthread, 95% of young people are less likely to be harmed again.

Joanne Woolway Grenfell

Bishop Joanne Grenfell is Bishop of Stepney Area in the Diocese of London. Prior to that she was Archdeacon of Portsdown in the Diocese of Portsmouth, and before that Director of Ordinands and Residentiary Canon in Sheffield. She has experience of outer housing estate and inner city parishes, chaplaincy, and cathedral ministry.