Visiting Local Care Homes

Our links with local Residential and Care Homes have existed for many years.

Residents gather in their lounges and our present teams of volunteers lead informal services. There is always time for a chat with  individual residents.

We visit Cedars Care Home, Redlake Road at 11.00 am on the second Monday.

Doveton House Residential Home, Love Lane 11.00 am on the last Monday

Liddiard Court, Wollaston 11.00 am on the second Tuesday.

We also visit Avondale Nursing Home, Norton Road to sing carols at Christmas.

These are lovely times. We sing the old hymns, share well known prayers and hear something from God’s word. It is a great privilege to be able to undertake this ministry.

Most of the residents in our Care Homes and Residential Homes in Stourbridge are unable to get to church for worship and fellowship, so we take ‘church’ to them!

We make the offer of visits to the Managers of the Homes and go at their invitation. Residents receive an open invitation and are free to accept or decline as they wish.

Our teams from Hope consist of a pool of about 12 helpers joined by others on special occasions and share the leading, speaking and worship.

This is The Cedars in Redlake Road a Christian Residential Home where we attend usually on the second Monday of each month at 11 am.

As we arrive there is quite a ‘buzz’ as folks share about their month since our previous visit and it can be quite a battle to get the service started! Favourite hymns are chosen from our large print hymnbooks and between the songs readings, prayers, testimonies and thoughts from scripture are shared. There is always good interaction with residents as we aim to keep them involved in-spite of their tendency to have a mid-morning nap!

Many residents have a deep personal faith and are encouraged to share it as appropriate and make requests during prayer time. The Service lasts for about 30 minutes followed by further conversations and invariably some ask ‘Why can’t you come every week?’

We attend Doveton House at 11 am on the last Monday of each month or a week earlier if it is a Bank Holiday. As at The Cedars it is difficult to get the Service started because of the lively volume of conversation. One of the Team will lead and another speak and the residents are only too ready to participate. Several of the residents have passed away over the last two years so we are hoping to welcome new residents to our monthly services.

Hearts are being touched.

At the moment we only go to Avondale at Christmas but Austin does call at other times to entertain them on the violin. The residents are more disabled than the other Care Homes but staff are most supportive and would like us to go more often. Dementia residents suddenly ‘switch on ‘ to the well-known carols often with tears in their eyes. We as Team members feel so much with them and receive such a blessing from reaching out to these dear folk in all Homes we visit. Many thanks for your prayers and please continue to pray for all the residents and for the Teams to keep fresh and inspired.

Even more, come and join us occasionally…there is always room for more.