On Sunday we shared more information about the projects which will be taking place on our next LoveDerby Sunday on Sunday 24 March 2024. The project leaders gave us some more information about how we will be serving our city.
Smile Project – Jo Willoughby
One of the projects which are regularly part of our LoveDerby Sundays is Smile. Now Smile isn’t something that we’ve just done recently for LoveDerby. I was trying to work out the other day how long we’ve been running Smile. We’ve been here at QUAD for about 11 years and it was before that so it’s probably been going for 12-15 years now.
So we’ve been running Smile for a long time now serving families who have children with additional needs who live in our city. Over the years we’ve met countless families and built relationships with lots of people. The idea being that we offer support for the children and care for their parents too.
We’ve done various things over the years but at the moment we meet for LoveDerby and do some different activities together. The children do various activities and we usually have coffee and cake with the parents and offer them support while the children are accepted, loved and cared for by our team.
I always cry at this point because it matters, it really, really matters to those families who have children with additional needs. It really matters that they are accepted, supported and cared for, understood and that’s what we are able to offer.
God once said to me not to despise my emotions and I really hang on to that because I hate crying when I’m up on stage, but actually it matters and I think we need to hear that it really matters.
Anyway so if you are available on the 24th we’re going bowling this time. Some of the young people from the church will bowl with the Smile Children and the adults will have a coffee. So if you want to join us, you will either be bowling or drinking coffee and you’re really welcome to come and join us to do that as part of Smile.
Children's Emergency Department Project - Chrissy
So our project this time is going to be at our Childrens Emergency Department where I work. We have a wonderful outside playground and very limited with toys inside due to infection control. So we’ve managed to get ourselves a wonderful brand new Dolls House and a seesaw as well.
This project will be a bit different from others because obviously this is a very busy department, we are going to be outside in the playground and we’ll be alone, we won’t actually being meeting a lot of people – which is usually one of the aims of Love Derby.
However, it is a way of us serving the NHS in our city and as with many big organisations it comes down to cost, if they had someone called in to put together equipment like this we’d be charged huge amounts of money but as part of LoveDerby we are able to serve and do this work for free.
Litter Pick Project - Steve
So I have the privilege of leading the Litter Pick project and it’s always a really great time because the Litter Pick is something that everyone can do. It doesn’t matter how small or big you are, or how old you are, everyone can be involved. So families can come along and do this one and we work together as well!
It’s also a project that is really out in the community which is my passion really for LoveDerby, I really think it’s so important for us to be out there in the community and people can come and talk to us and find out what we are doing and why we are doing it.
With Easter being the following weekend we’ll also be able to invite people along to our Easter service and tell them about Jesus as well as doing the litter pick.
So it’s really an exciting time. I’ll just end with a scripture, when I was thinking about what to say this scripture immediately popped into my mind it’s Luke 14:23 and it reads: “And the lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.”
This is what we’re doing, we’re going out into the highways and hedges, some translations say byways and getting people, compelling people to come in.
So I’ll be there, please do come along and pray with us in a moment and sign up. This time it’s happening near one of my favourite places if not my favourite place in Derby, down at the bottom of the Racecourse ground, right near the cricket ground so there you go!
Hope City New Home Craft - Elizabeth
So I’m going to be leading the craft for Hope City Furniture. If you don’t know what Hope City do they deliver furniture to people who have been rehoused due to crisis and a lot of times they are refugees from other nations and sometimes they’re simply people who have been rehoused due to domestic violence or something like that. I feel a little bit of a unique connection to refugees, although I didn't come over as a refugee, but I’m not British, in case you couldn’t tell and so I know when I first arrived that any small gesture of welcome was very welcome. So we do these little crafts that are little gifts for these people, so not only are they getting furniture but they’re also getting a little note along with this craft that says, “we’re thinking of you” we want you here, you are welcome here... So I'll be over there, please do come along and pray with us and sign up to make some craft items.