We have known Christine (and colleagues Sue Dray, Dr. Greg Gardner, Stuart Cunliffe, et al) since 1991 when Claire and I made our first month-long tour of Great Britain. We were there representing Vital Signs Ministries to speak at the English L'Abri and to several other audiences, to do media interviews, and to do some sidewalk counseling. Among the pro-life activists we met were Jim and Christine Fidler who were in the process of starting IMAGE, a pro-life organization they desired to be involved in direct action, crisis pregnancy services, education -- and, in everything they did, to be principled and Christ-centered.
They have done all that and more!
Indeed, the impact of that small group of pro-life Christians has been nothing short of extraordinary. I print Christine's letter so that you can pray for them also and perhaps consider joining in their much-needed support.
The accompanying photos, by the way, are from either that first trip to England or one of those subsequent. (We've made 4 so far.) The picture at right shows Claire and I with a couple of the Fidler girls when we were all, alas, much younger while the photo at lower left shows Jim Fidler (Jim passed away last year) and I as we did sidewalk counseling outside a Manchester abortion center.Dear Denny and Claire and those at Vital Signs,
We want to thank you so much for partnering with us in IMAGE - we feel we owe you so much. The help we had from you guys establishing our foundations was invaluable and your ongoing support is very precious to us. Thought I'd send you some summary information about where we're up to and what we hope to accomplish with God's help:
* In 2007 Image’s Pregnancy Helpline received over 1000 calls that resulted in nearly 300 clients. We network to Christian pregnancy centres across the country and we know that babies are saved every year because of this work.
* Our unique, accredited Image Training Course in Christian pregnancy counselling skills was run in London as well as Manchester last year and we are currently training ‘trainers’ from London in order to continue to deliver it in both venues. We are also running a post-abortion counselling course this autumn.
* We circulate 1000 Image News to churches and individuals across the country every two months, giving a valuable digest of current pro-life issues.
* We have a growing number of people receiving our prayer letters and participating in the national day of prayer about abortion we organise annually. * Image provides a northern office for Challenge Team UK, teams of young people who go into schools promoting a ‘save sex for marriage’ message. In 2007 they reached over 6000 secondary pupils in the North (-this part of the work is funded by Challenge Team UK).
* We currently employ one full-time and two part-time staff and work with over 20 volunteers.
Thank you so much for your part in helping us to reach this point. We now have the opportunity for major growth with appropriate funding. Our development plans are as follows:
* New base and resource centre: Image has the opportunity to move into bigger and more central office premises with other Christian charities working with the needy in Manchester. This will raise our profile, enable us to have a new resource centre and to expand our helpline services to the public.
* Publications: Image literature is to be updated and republished and the two image websites further developed (www.imagenet.org.uk and www.pregnancyhelpline.co.uk).
* Staffing: The workforce will need to expand to support this growth.
This is a very exciting and encouraging stage to be at as God moves us forward, even in at a time when nationally things are looking very grim. We continue to pray for God's mercy on our nation.
Lots of love,
Christine
