In this week’s edition of our weekly newsletter, Deputy Director Richelle Thompson writes about a remarkable encounter with a couple of longtime Forward Day by Day readers in an airport. It’s truly a moving testament to our mission, and a great story!
Dear friends in Christ,
Forward Movement isn’t a publishing company. We’re a ministry. Sure, we publish–in print, online, as apps and podcasts, ebooks and blogs. But our mission is to be a ministry that inspires disciples and empowers evangelists.
Deadlines and budgets sometimes cloud the focus. That’s why hearing from readers matters so much, fuels us and reminds us of our purpose.
I had the privilege of meeting devoted Forward Day by Day readers a few weeks ago in a chance encounter at an airport. At ages 89 and 102 (not a typo!), the couple serve as chaplains to retired clergy. I told them about my work at Forward Movement. The man’s eyes lit up. He reached into his bag. I never travel without these two items, he said. And he showed me a tattered Book of Common Prayer and the latest issue of Forward Day by Day, bound together by a rubber band.
He uses Forward Day by Day in a Bible study that he has led at a mental hospital for more than twenty years. He mentioned that he needed to order some copies in Spanish for a few new residents. It was my privilege and honor to tell him that Forward Movement would send those for free as part of our ministry. I told him that we are supported by generous donors who enable us to send for free every year more than 100,000 resources for Bible study and daily spiritual reflection to prisons, nursing homes, and hospitals.
The chaplain smiled. It was God’s plan that we meet today, he said. God works in wondrous ways.
Indeed.
Yours faithfully,
Richelle Thompson
Deputy Director and Managing Editor
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