The Benefits of SPCK Membership

Our Fundraising Assistant Catriona Brickel is on the blog today, chatting about our members' only event at The Tower of London that took place on 3 October. 

On a beautiful autumn evening, a jovial crowd of SPCK members and supporters gathered outside the West Gate of the Tower of London. Fortunately, there was none of the apprehension that other guests of the Tower experienced in years gone by! Instead we eagerly awaited an evening of history, worship and fellowship – and a drinks reception, for good measure.

Yeoman Warder, Andy Merry, guided us through the Tower to the sanctuary of the Chapel Royal of St Peter ad Vincula. The final resting place of Anne Boleyn, Catherine Howard and Sir Thomas More, much like the rest of the Tower, the Chapel Royal is a poignant reminder of the triumphs and tragedies of Britain.  

It is also a wonderful testament to the important role that faith has always had in British public life.  As such, it was the perfect venue for an SPCK Evensong, as we work to ensure that Christian knowledge remains relevant in an increasingly secular world. Led by Bishop Graham Kings, the lessons and psalms reminded of the ever-present need to put our trust and hope in God, and we pray that as a society we will trust in God’s abundance and help our supporters to do so too.

Our CEO, Sam Richardson, spoke about the impact of SPCK’s mission and focused particularly on our Diffusion prison fiction programme. Thanks to the gifts of our supporters, we are able to provide easy-to-read books for use in prison reading groups. These are especially commissioned to improve literacy rates in prisons but also draw on themes like the importance of empathy, making good life choices and developing positive relationships. The impact of this programme is shown in testimony like this, from a prisoner at HMP Lewes:

Not Such a Bargain is the first book I’ve read fully in over a decade. I really got into it surprisingly seeing as I haven’t managed to read a full book since primary school. Next, I would like to say thanks to you guys for providing this book to my prison… The book touched me in many different ways: [it] was very very similar to my life… It made me think about my own actions more and realise they were wrong, almost bought a tear to my eyes a couple of times.

So far, in this financial year, we have already sent over 1,200 books to prisoners across 27 prisons.  We have also expanded the horizons of the Diffusion project, by sending books to community support groups for refugees. This is an exciting time to join the project, and so we trust that many of our guests this evening will seize this opportunity to join our mission. Perhaps you will too?

To find out more about Diffusion, and how you can be part of SPCK’s mission, please visit the Support Us page. Alternatively, you can donate directly here.