Hope-giving phone line features Salvation Army reflections

A phone line providing hopeful messages and hymns for older people will now include regular reflections from The Salvation Army’s Older People’s Ministries.

Daily Hope is a joint initiative between charity, Faith in Later Life[1], of which The Salvation Army is a founding partner, and The Church of England (specifically Lambeth Palace and Holy Trinity Claygate Church, Surrey).

The phone line has already received more than 550,000 calls since its launch during the Covid pandemic in April 2020 when the country was in lockdown, and every month around 20,000 calls are made by older people looking for hopeful comment and peaceful reflection.

The phone line includes an introductory message by The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, with options  to take part in chair exercises, a Church of England weekly church service, hymns, traditional morning and evening prayers, as well as daily reflections.

Andrew Wileman, Assistant Director of Older People’s Services at The Salvation Army, will feature among the daily reflections on the phone line – sharing insights from The Salvation Army’s Songs of the Faith series – a daily devotional  shared on The Salvation Army’s Older People’s Ministries Facebook group.

Andrew Wileman, said: “We’re delighted to be part of this wonderful phone line which provides spiritual sustenance to thousands of older people each day.

"As founding partners through our involvement with Faith in Later Life, we are really proud that so many people are finding comfort and encouragement in their faith every day.

"Our Songs of the Faith series has been really well-received on Facebook, and we are delighted to be able to share these devotional insights further through the Daily Hope phone line.”

You can call Daily Hope 24-hours a day on the freephone number 0800 804 8044.

[1] Faith in Later Life aims to enable Christians to reach, serve and empower older people in their communities.