Fifty Years of Faithfulness: Celebrating God’s Love in Action Through Foster Care

Fifty years is a significant milestone by any measure. A fiftieth birthday or anniversary is a time for celebration and reflection. I still recall my mum's fiftieth birthday, where her closest friends and family came together with love and joy and laughter. In the Old Testament of the Bible (Leviticus 25), God proclaimed that every fifty years would be a "year of jubilee", a time for the land and the people to rest, reset, and reflect on God's blessing and faithfulness. It seems only fitting then, that we too should take time to stop, reflect on, and celebrate God's blessing and faithfulness over the last fifty years, as Anglicare has provided foster care to some of the most vulnerable children in Sydney and across NSW.

Why does Anglicare do foster care?

You may be wondering why Anglicare has remained committed to this difficult ministry over the past half-century. Throughout the story of the Bible, one of the recurring entreaties God has for his people is that they are to care for the orphan in their midst.¹ When God speaks through the prophet Isaiah, he says to Judah, "Take your evil deeds out of my sight! Stop doing wrong, learn to do right! Seek justice, encourage the oppressed. Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow." (Isaiah 1:16b-17). God clearly takes the care of vulnerable children seriously, and states that this work it is not an optional extra for his people, rather it is what is expected of them. The Hebrew word we translate as "fatherless" or "orphan" in the Bible is yatom, and the root verb of this word means "to be lonely". God cares deeply for vulnerable children, they are close to his heart as he hears them cry out in their loneliness and distress. This is why in Psalm 68, King David can declare "A father to the fatherless... God sets the lonely in families" (verses 5-6).

When Jesus was asked "which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" he responded this way: 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind'This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: "Love your neighbour as yourself"(Matthew 22:36-39). When Jesus was asked "and who is my neighbour" he went on to tell the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37), teaching us that to love our neighbour is to offer solace and care to anyone who comes across our path who is suffering and in need of help. There are children in our communities who are in desperate need of this solace and care, they are lonely and in distress and need a family to care for them in their time of need.

The vast majority of children in the foster care system aren't orphans, but for different reasons they are unable to be cared for by their parents. God's mandate in the Bible is clear; his call to care for the orphan, his call to love our neighbour, is a call to care for the child in foster care. While the call to foster care can feel overwhelming, we remember that we have a strong foundation for our motivation to care for vulnerable children. We have a God who loves us so much that "while we were still sinners: Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8). We have a God, who "In love... predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will" (Ephesians 1:4-5). God's sacrificial love for us as his adopted children is what motivates us to care for vulnerable children in foster care. This knowledge gives me immense comfort and confidence as I work as a chaplain to support foster families, and I hope it does the same for you too.

Partnership between Anglicare and church

This biblical mandate and motivation is why, for the past fifty years, Anglicare has provided foster care to thousands of vulnerable children, and it is why I feel the great privilege and responsibility of supporting our hard working and dedicated team of staff and carers. Anglicare has sought to enable our local churches to live out this biblical mandate and motivation in the lives of their congregations, and this has happened in a myriad of different ways. God, in his kindness, has raised up faithful men and women who have been willing to open their homes and their lives to the children He has entrusted to them. He has also faithfully raised up others who have been willing to support foster carers in this important work.

We know that not everyone is able to become a foster carer, but we are deeply convicted that everyone is called to do something when it comes to loving and caring for vulnerable children in our communities. In 1 Corinthians 12, Paul declares that "there are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord... Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good" (verses 4-5, 7). He then goes on to use the analogy of the body to explain that even though God gifts people in the church in different ways, and that we all come from different backgrounds, all members are important and necessary for doing His work. There is a place for all of us to help.

Paul's teaching here underpins the concept of Anglicare's Foster Circle. Our vision for the next fifty years is that our churches would take seriously the biblical mandate and motivation to care for vulnerable children by using the gifts the Holy Spirit has given their members to intentionally love and help foster families in their congregations.

Prayer

As such, I would love for you to join me prayer for this vision. John reminds us "This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And we know that he hears us - whatever we ask - we know that we have what we asked of him." (1 John 5:14-15).

Heavenly Father,

We come before You with hearts full of gratitude for fifty years of faithfulness, a testament to Your steadfast love and unchanging mercy. As we celebrate this journey, we remember that every child placed in foster care, every home opened, and every life touched has been held by Your grace and guided by Your Spirit. We thank You for those You have called to serve - foster parents, supporters, and church communities who have embraced Your call to love the vulnerable.

Lord, we ask for Your continued blessing on the work of Anglicare and on all who serve in this ministry. May Your Spirit empower them, grant them strength on weary days, wisdom in times of challenge, and joy in moments of growth. We pray for more churches to rise in unity, each using the gifts You have bestowed to become places of refuge and grace, embodying Your love to the lonely and the lost.

As we look to the next fifty years, give us courage, Lord, to follow Your lead with open hearts and hands. Help us to embody the love You have poured out through Christ, that we might become a living expression of Your kingdom on earth. We rest in Your promise that You are with us, hearing our prayers and walking alongside us in this sacred work.

In the name of Jesus, who taught us to love without limits, we pray.

Amen.

Rev. Bethany Downes, OOHC Chaplain