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Becky, Matthew and Linn

The SLFC team

Chair & CEO Prayer Letter

February 2025

Torch Trust
Torch House, Torch Way,
Market Harborough,
Leicestershire,
LE16 9HL UK
Tel: +44 (0)1858 438260
email: info@torchtrust.org
website: torchtrust.org

Dear Friends,

As we step into 2025, we are filled with gratitude and excitement for what God has done and continues to do through Torch Trust. As we look back at 2024, and what a year that was, we can say that it has been a great privilege and joy to serve Torch working together as Chair and CEO. We want to take a moment to thank you for your ongoing support and share some of the ways your partnership has made a difference, as well as the opportunities we look forward to in the year ahead.

In 2024, we witnessed God’s faithfulness in remarkable ways. Our work in providing accessible Christian literature and resources for people with sight loss has continued to grow. We are so thankful for the partnerships formed with churches, sight loss agencies, charities, and organisations which have helped us extend our reach further than ever before.

During the year we enjoyed the monthly Torch coffee mornings at Torch House and between us we had opportunities to visit several Torch Fellowship Groups and churches including Leeds, Bristol, Cambridge, Rugby, Daventry and Northern Ireland and we really appreciate the growing community of Torch Fellowship Groups providing spiritual encouragement and friendship including some on-line groups.

We experienced at first hand the ongoing impact of our accessible holiday breaks with Sarah speaking at Poole and Tony at Scarborough. Each one was full of fun and fellowship. What a great opportunity to make new friends.

We also had the opportunity to visit Torch Malawi and it was good to visit many of the fellowship groups to see the impact your prayers and support have been. We are encouraged that Torch Malawi is on the first steps to becoming more financially responsible for the work themselves.

2024 saw the end of the first full year with Compass Braille, where we saw the work becoming more integrated with Torch especially in the production area. In partnership with United Bible Societies we have produced over 6,000 individual scriptures worldwide in 20 different languages. We have done new transcriptions including Kazakh for Mongolia and have sent Bible volumes to India (2,289 Bible volumes in 8 languages), Ghana, Liberia, Zimbabwe, Rwanda and other countries.

We give thanks for the success of the ‘Walking by Faith’ podcast and, looking ahead, we are filled with anticipation for all God has in store. We’re excited to see how our ministry continues to develop as we aim to bring the gospel to even more people in creative and engaging ways. This includes the launch of our new podcast ‘Blind Faith’, which features behind-the-scenes videos showcasing the incredible work of Torch.

We are also excited about a new resource specifically designed for reaching children with the message of God’s love, which we will share more about later.

On a sadder note we recognize the support of those who have died during the year and we especially think of Mike Townsend and Julia Chapman who served as Trustees.

We are praying for the year ahead, trusting God to open new doors and bring more individuals to support our work and for us to be able to engage with more blind and partially sighted people and meet with them where they are on their spiritual and sight loss journey.

None of this would be possible without your faithful prayers and generous support. We appreciate all the Trustees, Staff, Volunteers and Supporters who share the calling of Torch and together, we are shining the light of Christ in the lives of those with sight loss, ensuring no one is left without access to God’s Word and Christian fellowship.

As we press on, we are reminded of Paul’s words in Philippians 1:6: “being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” May we continue to trust in His plans and purposes for Torch Trust in the year ahead.

Thank you for being part of this journey with us. We value your partnership deeply and look forward to all that God will accomplish through Torch Trust in 2025.

With every blessing,

Tony Brown & Sarah Dawkins

Chair of Trustees & CEO, Torch Trust

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