The Silver Hope Trust

The Silver Hope Trust (TSHT) was founded in June 2023 to inspire and equip Christians and churches to love, care, serve and support older people. It grew out of the work started by Pippa Cramer at Holy Trinity Church in Claygate, Surrey, UK (HTC).

Pippa is passionate about loving and caring for older people, reducing loneliness and giving seniors the opportunity to find hope in the gospel. She serves on the staff team at HTC with specific responsibility for Pastoral Care and Seniors Ministry. In 2021 Pippa was awarded The Alphege Award for Evangelism and Witness by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, and in 2022 she was awarded an MBE in recognition of her work with older and vulnerable people.

The first step was in 2011 when Pippa launched Connections, a weekly gathering for older people, at HTC. It has since grown into one of the largest church-based gatherings for seniors in the UK, offering a safe and welcoming place for seniors to meet. Connections offers a constantly changing range of activities that include everything from mini hand massages to crafts and games, as well as special interest tables put together by local guests. Many churches from all over the UK have visited HTC and gone on to start their own Connections-style gatherings.

In 2019 Pippa, along with her husband Steve, developed Hymns We Love  a gentle and accessible series to explore the Christian faith through well-known and well-loved hymns.

The series became the bedrock of the Daily Hope free phoneline which Pippa launched with the Church of England and the Christian charity, Faith in Later Life, as a support for those who found themselves housebound during the Covid Pandemic. In total, the Daily Hope received more than one million phone calls.

In 2023, Hymns We Love was launched as a series of 8 talks in video and printed form to support Churches as they share the love of Jesus with seniors. Published by The Good Book Company, it is now available across the UK, Australia and the US.