Download Valentine's Pack
Celebrate Valentine's Day with a difference!
Take part in our Valentine's Day meal - and help persecuted women in Afghanistan and Sri Lanka
Following the success of last year's 'Love, St Valentine' event we are repeating the initiative with updated materials and ideas for you to use in 2012. This includes new stories from Sri Lanka and Afghanistan.
Our revised starter pack will help you to put together a stimulating programme in which people share a meal using our suggested recipes, watch a Release DVD and pray for the specific needs of persecuted Christian women.
The pack is available for a suggested donation of £5. It can be ordered by calling our Supporter Relations Team on 01689 823491, by emailing us at valentine@releaseinternational.org, or by downloading here.
Why not suggest that those who come to your meal contribute a sum equivalent to the amount that they may have spent going out for Valentine's Day?
All funds raised will be used to develop the work of Release Women both in the UK and internationally.
Let us join together to remind our persecuted family how much we love them.
'Love, St Valentine' gives you and your church the opportunity to:
• pray for those whose marriages are under strain, or who are separated.
• raise the issue of young single Christian women living vulnerable lives who are facing potential abuse.
• find out about specific Release projects that need your ongoing prayer and support.
If you have any questions or suggestions, please email us valentine@releaseinternational.org
Why Valentine's Day?
It is believed that around the year AD269 Valentinus, a church leader, was martyred for defying an order given by Emperor Claudius II that outlawed marriage.
Claudius realised that recruitment to the Roman army was in decline, due to the fact that men did not want to leave their loved ones for up to 25 years of armed service!
So Claudius simply banned marriage in order to increase the size of his army. Valentinus refused to obey and secretly married couples at night.
When his activities were discovered, he was sent to Rome, and it is believed that he shared the gospel with Claudius before his death. One traditional story tells of the way Valentinus was befriended by the jailer's daughter, and on the eve of his death he wrote a last letter to her, signing it: 'From your Valentine'.
Two centuries later, the martyrdom of Valentinus was commemorated by the dedication of February 14 in honour of his life and sacrifice.
We'd like to celebrate the sacrifice of Valentinus and his commitment to godly marriage as part of our 'Love, St Valentine' meal − and we'd love you to join in.
Your feedback
Last year you told us:
'We had a lovely evening … we stopped intermittently to watch the DVD and to pray ... The evening had a Valentine's Day flavour with good food, romantic soft music and candles. We all enjoyed it very much.'
'We had such a lovely time of fellowship and a powerful time praying for our sisters and taking communion remembering them.'
Don't miss out on this year's meal!
Download 'Love, St Valentine' pack (pdf 1.6mb)
Make a gift online (suggested donation for the pack: £5). Please choose 'Other' from the drop-down menu, and designate your gift 'Valentine's Pack'.
Download persecution world map (pdf)
Order a DVD from our eStore to watch as part of your event
You may also order DVDs by calling our Supporter Relations Team on 01689 823491