Chaplaincy is journeying alongside people wherever they find themselves.Throughout the country, over ten thousand chaplains serve in our schools and colleges, hospitals and hospices, prisons, armed forces and police, courts and places of work and leisure. Every day, they are living and sharing the story of God’s love and offering unconditional spiritual care to all with sensitivity, generosity and grace.
Chaplains listen to and accompany everyone, whatever their age, profession or status. They offer pastoral, spiritual and religious care to people of all beliefs, spiritualities and cultures. Chaplains seek to be both distinctive in their beliefs and practice and inclusive of everyone. Chaplains come from all faiths and beliefs and from all Christian denominations; and they serve within a huge range of organisations, many of which are beyond the church. Chaplaincy is a network rather than an organisation. The Church of England is a valuable part of that network.
Chaplains are part of the organisations and communities they serve, living within the culture, context, policy and practice. They are embedded, or perhaps incarnate. They are also guest in almost every conversation, in that no one has to engage with a chaplain. Yet because chaplains are present with the 95% who will not regularly visit a place of worship, many people do encounter them and journey with chaplaincy as they explore questions of life and faith.
Hear from two Chaplains who work in Peterborough Diocese about their work:
Hospital Chaplaincy - The Revd Evie McNally
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When I tell people I’m a hospital chaplain, they often reply with complimentary words of encouragement and respect…‘that must be very challenging, but a very valuable and needed role!’ Of course, they are right; in a lot of ways the role is challenging and at times distressing, but it is also a role which blesses deeply and offers hope beyond the circumstances people are facing.
On the wards chaplains with a Christian faith background are being called by God to search for the poor and weak, the sick and lonely; those who are oppressed by illness and frailty, feeling powerless and sometimes facing death itself. On the wards, chaplains are being called to reach into the forgotten corners of the world, so that the love of God may be made visible . It is a powerful ministry where the chaplain is called to serve at walking pace, being led by God ‘in the moment’, and open to the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Chaplaincy requires the kind of presence that is willing to be interrupted – always available and attentive to the needs of the person before us, and chaplains are privileged to be given opportunities which enable us to embody this sense of being fully present. On the wards is where God’s mission to bring healing and wholeness to our broken world is revealed and addressed. So, if I were to sum up my role as a chaplain in just a few words, I would describe chaplaincy as a ministry of presence.
As NHS chaplains we serve the hospital and those who work and receive care there in various ways. Following the loss of a baby, we meet with bereaved parents, offer services of naming and blessing, funerals, and twice-yearly Baby Loss Memorial services. We visit patients on wards, offering Holy Communion, prayer, or a passage from scripture. We offer a listening ear to patients and staff in distress and are involved in major incidents and trauma response, as well as undertaking staff training. We plan and lead corporate memorial services and offer opportunities for the hospital to mark major faith events and festivals, such as Ramadan, Diwali, Hanukkah, Christmas, and Easter, and civic memorials, such as Remembrance. For me, one of the most privileged areas of a chaplain’s work is enabling patients and families who are facing death to receive end of life prayer and support. Chaplains point to God’s presence alongside us, offering hope in the face of uncertainty or pain.
While remaining authentic and true to our own faith tradition or belief, we are called to minister to people from all faiths and world views. The diverse nature of the need we encounter and the work we do is a real blessing, where God’s grace is both encountered and experienced. I have discovered that it is possible to hold these tensions together with the grace God has given us. I am privileged to work with and alongside a wonderful and diverse team of chaplains from different faith backgrounds who not only support the hospital but also one another. Reflecting together as a team is both vital for our own learning, as we seek to deliver excellence in our care, but also for our own well-being as ministers. We do not journey alone!
Prison Chaplaincy - The Revd Tony Lynett
You might be wondering what God has in store for you next in ministry. Maybe you’re being drawn to something completely different, or maybe you’ve just been signed off and are exploring all the ministry opportunities in God’s church.
One area of ministry that often gets overlooked is Prison Chaplaincy. But yet it can be one of the most exciting and rewarding experiences open to the Christian minister.
Prison Chaplains stand alongside those in custody, often at their lowest point, with a message of hope and forgiveness. And it’s both humbling and moving to watch individuals respond and embrace the Gospel and find new direction and new purpose.
There are many opportunities, such as Bible Classes, Sunday and weekday services, as well as one-to-one study and prayer. Seeing men received into the prison and those discharged every day, those who make applications to be seen, those segregated either as punishment or for their own protection, as well as those who present as suicidal or are self-harming, demands all the skills of ministry that can be mustered, along with the grace of the Holy Spirit.
It can be very demanding, but it’s a very real, grounded ministry that is hugely rewarding.
Chaplains are also there for all the staff. Sometimes the Officers in a Prison will need support in handling extremely difficult situations; we need to be there for them. Many Chaplains have been blessed by conducting weddings and baptisms and sadly sometimes funerals of those they have worked alongside and have been privileged to get to know through pastoral encounters.
Prison Chaplaincies are multifaith teams, and colleagues can be Muslim, Sikh, Hindu, Pagan, and others too, as well as Christian. One often discovers that those of different faiths are also on the side of the angels. And it can be such a stimulating and strengthening environment in which to work as one learns to respect the faith and spirituality of others, whilst becoming more sure of the rock upon which the Church of Christ is built, as one’s own faith is honed and deepened.
There is a whole host of ministers who can become Prison Chaplains. Often adverts include Ordained Priests and Deacons as well as Readers, Accredited Lay Ministers, and Volunteer Chaplains.
There is an excellent training programme for those who want to pursue this possibility, and here in this Diocese we have The Revd Canon Helen Dearnley who is the Assistant Chaplain General of Prisons and a mine of information about Prison Chaplaincy.
There is so much more that could be said, but perhaps the most important is:
Don’t forget those in prison and their families. You will remember in the Gospel, Jesus identifies himself with prisoners when he says “I was in prison and you visited me”. He didn’t specify whether they were innocent or guilty; he simply asked us not to forget them.