This week we heard of the funeral of Greta Scott King, widow of Martin Luther King, and we were reminded of his uplifting words many years ago ‘I have a dream’.

Wonderful, emotive, great words. I always felt that Martin Luther King had a theme that was something like the prophet Joel. Joel spoke out because there were all sorts of calamities, one after another, and he spoke of the promise God made that he would send his Holy Spirit and by that Holy Spirit people would have dreams and visions: visions of things that could be done to improve the situation. And that’s not confined to those days; or to the days of Martin Luther King. It’s so in our twenty‑first century as well.

I believe that the Holy Spirit moves us all to have dreams and visions of how things can be improved, and what we can do to help others. Just look at that wall at the back of the church and the things that have been done for so many different people. If I can single out one person, I think Adam clearly had a dream or a vision that was very successful.

And it’s by way of an introduction to a dream that many of us have had about a telephone link for the house bound in our community: the idea that many of you know about. But if I can just spend a few minutes talking a little bit more about it to bring you up to date.

It’s not new, it was tried in Lancashire and it’s been tried very successfully in Bilston in Wolverhampton. The scheme started as a telephone link to ensure that those unable to get out easily are made aware that people care and that help is available, because it’s certain that a lot of people don’t feel that help is available and that they are isolated and forgotten. Leaning on Bilston for ideas of how their scheme was started and developed, we made two trips and learnt much about what they have done. One of their senior administrators has agreed to come and train us. Citizens Advice have also agreed to help with training and the Samaritans, I understand, are willing to assist as well.

When we raised the idea at the Crescent Community Centre it was given great support. A meeting with local charities, such as Age Concern, not only endorsed the scheme that we had, but also felt that they might pass on referrals to us. Indeed, it might reciprocate both ways. Social Services and Berkshire Community for the Blind Society both said that they supported the idea as well and might also give us referrals.

Apart from making contact with people, it would give the opportunity to remind people of the need for certain things. We could have, as it were, a theme for a week: security chains on front doors; smoke alarms; a reminder that it’s time for them to have a ‘flu jab. All sorts of things, just to help remind people of things that they need to do. And talking of the security and the smoke alarms, I understand we’re getting letters of support shortly from the police and from the fire service who like the theme idea that we had.

So, we have the idea, we have support from other groups, we hope to visit local churches to see if they would also come and join us in this scheme. So far this church has pledged financial support and it looks as if we will also have financial help from other areas, like the Earley and Woodley Lions, from Wokingham District Council and one or two other groups who have not promised amounts yet, but have certainly suggested that they would give us some support.

It is likely that when we start it could lead into a need for what Bilston calls ‘befrienders’. For example, if someone has a hospital appointment they may need someone to go with them if they were partially sighted. Bilston started with 25 befrienders and that quickly rose to 125, but the difference with Bilston is they make two thousand calls per week to individuals. They have full time administrators, secretaries and paid telephonists as well as a large volunteer force.

Peter, one of the administrators there, was telling me that whilst he was on holiday last October and November in Spain he met someone who came from the Midlands. They were talking about their situations and in the course of the conversation this gentleman mentioned that he had an elderly mother. Peter said to him ‘Well who looks after your mother when you’re on holiday’. To which the man replied ‘Well your lot of course, Linkline’. He continued, ‘I’m assured that she has a phone call every week and if she needs someone, someone will pop around to see her, so I can go on holiday happy in the knowledge that she is well looked after’. Peter, being a finance man, responded ‘In which case, what about some financial support?’. Which, in fact, he got.

We need this sort of family spirit I’m sure, in Earley. So far we have five or six people willing to do phone calls and we’re starting in a small way and it looks as if we have the finances to make a start. We’re told by so many people that they envisage that it would develop fast and that soon we’ll need many more telephonists. But in order to justify bringing someone all the way down from the Midlands to train us. I’d like to get about ten people who are willing to man the telephones, just for, literally, a few minutes once a week. If we have about ten or twelve people it would mean that we have cover for holidays and things like that, it would also lighten the load that we anticipate for those involved in doing it.

So my challenge to you this morning is, if any feel able to learn more about the telephoning or the befriending system, please speak to Marion or Ruth Foster or myself and we’ll be only too delighted to give you more information.

We have a dream, we’re hoping others will hep us to make it into reality.