Fr Peter Michael Scott
On the first day of Christmas, please pray for Nigel Harding our Hospice Chief Executive. As the proverbial ‘partridge at the top of the tree’ he is responsible to patients, staff the local community, the trustees and the governing Sisters of St Josephs to see that excellent care is delivered in the hospice.
On the second day of Christmas, please pray to our patrons, St Joseph, and the Venerable Mary Aikenhead.
St Joseph sheltered and raised Jesus and is patron of the dying. Mary Aikenhead is the foundress of the Religious Sisters of Charity who established and still govern the hospice.
On the third day of Christmas, please pray for all those who are patients or staff in our three wards: Lourdes, St Michael’s and St Anne’s.
On the fourth day of Christmas, please pray for the ‘community team’ who work from the fourth floor of our main building. This extraordinary team reach out to the sick and dying in Hackney, Tower Hamlets and Newham.
On the fifth day of Christmas please reflect on our five gold rings: the Core Values of the hospice. These are the five principles which govern the hospice’s care of patients, staff and volunteers. They are quality, respect, justice, compassion and advocacy.
On the sixth day of Christmas, please pray for the repose of the souls of those original Irish Religious Sisters of Charity who established the hospice in 1905. The address of the first hospice building in Mare Street was 6 Cambridge Lodge.
On the seventh day of Christmas, please pray for all those visiting loved ones in the hospice. We are open seven days a week and visitors are served by a friendly reception staff eager to help those coming into
St Joseph’s.
On the eighth day of Christmas, please pray for those who have died in the hospice over the festive period. The eighth day after the seventh of creation is the new day of resurrection.
On the ninth day of Christmas please for our precious volunteers; we have nine associated with Chaplaincy, but the hospice is supported by 500.
On the tenth day of Christmas please pray for our benefactors. Every donation, no matter the amount is welcome and valuable. The hospice is running a fund raising campaign called Be
a Regular Joe and one suggestion is taking out a standing order to donate £10
a month … but every contribution is greatly appreciated.
On the eleventh day of Christmas, pray for all connected to St Joseph’s Hospice, past and present. Since 1905, when the hospice opened, Mare Street, Hackney, has provided eleven decades of care to the people of the East End.
On the twelfth day of Christmas, revisit the other eleven intentions and start again, because the work done in the hospice is supported and nurtured by your prayers, and we are very grateful.
