NEWS

Thandar Tun 10/19/25 Thandar Tun 10/19/25

Volunteer Lay & Professional Director Vacancies – UK Board of Healthcare Chaplaincy (UKBHC)

As described within its communication below, the UK Board of Healthcare Chaplaincy is the Professional Standards Authority accredited register for chaplains working in health and social care settings. Rather like the General Medical Council or the Nurses and Midwifery Council, the Board sets standards for safe and competence practice as well as accrediting training and education. As registration becomes mandatory within Scotland, and other nations are encouraged to follow suit, the work of the Board will take on increasing importance. The directors play a critical role in both enabling and shaping the work of the Board. If you feel passionate about the benefit of safe, high-quality, evidence-based and patient centred chaplaincy care being provided as part of holistic care within health and social are setting I’d encourage you to consider applying for one of the vacant director positions.

Volunteer Lay & Professional Director Vacancies – UK Board of Healthcare Chaplaincy (UKBHC)

The UKBHC has a number of exciting opportunities for four volunteer Directors to join our Board.  

The primary aim of the Board is the safety and wellbeing of the public, which it achieves by setting high standards for the professional practice of healthcare chaplains as a Professional Standards Authority accredited register. UKBHC holds a register of healthcare chaplains who have fulfilled its criteria for admission as registrants, as well as members who do not yet meet these criteria and who are committed to a high professional standard for healthcare chaplaincy working within the code of conduct.

Chaplains and Spiritual Care professionals come from many different traditions and belief groups, including non-religious beliefs, and are united by their common focus on the individual and their own values, beliefs and ways of making meaning during the challenges life can throw our way. 

The work Chaplains and Spiritual Care professionals do is very important to patients, family members and to healthcare staff.  The Board is proud to support these dedicated professionals.  One of our outgoing Directors said recently "I've found it very rewarding to work with such a diverse, dedicated and caring group of people who all share a commitment to raising the profile of Chaplaincy in healthcare and sustaining standards."

To reflect this diversity, we are actively seeking to recruit Directors from as wide a variety of cultural backgrounds and faith traditions as possible.  We welcome and encourage applications from all faith traditions, including those from people with a non-religious worldview.

You will be required to attend to Directors duties which currently include full day meetings 4 times per year - 3 times online and once face to face.  Between these meetings, Directors undertake a range of creative and administrative tasks vital to fulfilling our mission of maintaining standards.  The usual commitment is around 8 hours per month.

We are seeking to recruit:

2 Professional Directors & 2 Lay Directors.

Professional Directors are required to be Registered Chaplains. Our current vacancies for Professional Directors are for an Academic Standards Lead and a Board Secretary*. You will need to be knowledgeable about the role and experiences of Chaplains/Spiritual Care Professionals across the UK and will need to demonstrate to us that you have the professional knowledge and skills to help us maintain the effective running of our organisation.

Lay Directors cannot be Chaplains/Spiritual Care professionals. Lay Directors contribute by facilitating and challenging the wider Board of Directors to be rigorous and evidence-based in decision-making, problem solving and planning. Lay Directors often have a career background that brings useful skills and knowledge to the Board. We are particularly keen to hear from those who have business management, regulatory, or legal experience.

You can contact our Chair, Sarah Crane chair@ukbhc.org.uk if you would like to have a conversation regarding these roles prior to making an application. Please apply by completing our application form (Lay Director, Board Secretary, Academic Standards Lead) and emailing it to the above email address. Interviews will take place during November and be held on Microsoft Teams. All appointments will be ratified by our December Board meeting and candidates will be informed after this point.

These are unpaid, volunteer posts but we cover out of pocket expenses.

*Company Secretarial services are provided by Wilson Partners

Kind regards,

Sarah Crane (she/her/hers)
UKBHC Chair
Chair@ukbhc.org.uk

Thandar Tun 10/6/25 Thandar Tun 10/6/25

Statement from the Free Churches Group, England and Wales

On behalf of the Free Churches Group of England and Wales, the Moderator, Revd Dr Tessa Henry-Robinson, extends heartfelt congratulations and warm good wishes to the Most Revd and Rt Hon Dame Sarah Mullally DBE on her historic appointment as Archbishop of Canterbury.

We wish you every strength, courage, and joy in this sacred calling, and pray that you feel God’s presence in each moment of discernment, service, and witness.

May God’s grace and goodness surround you, sustain you, and shine through your ministry in the years ahead.

Revd Dr Tessa Henry-Robinson

Moderator

Free Churches Group

Thandar Tun 10/2/25 Thandar Tun 10/2/25

A stabbing attack at the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue earlier today

The Free Churches Group mourns the tragic attack at a synagogue in Manchester on the holiest day in the Jewish year and strongly condemns all acts of violence.

Our hearts and prayers are with those who have been injured, their families, and all who are grieving the loss of loved ones. We give thanks for the courage and dedication of the emergency services in responding so swiftly.

At this difficult time, we pray for healing, for compassion to guide our actions, and for communities across the UK to stand together in understanding, peace, and love.

Thandar Tun 9/10/25 Thandar Tun 9/10/25

Education Sunday 14th September 2025: Lost and found

“Lost and Found” is the theme for Education Sunday 2025.

On Education Sunday, 14 September, we will be looking at the well-known parables from Luke’s Gospel, the parable of the lost sheep and the parable of the lost coin (Luke 15.1-10).

In our schools, colleges and universities, there are many young people who feel lost, or appear to be lost. This can be because the institutions are so big that they don’t feel noticed, because don’t feel they fit with the expectations of the institution or their peers or because of the unseen struggles at home. Others appear to us to be lost because of the way they behave or fail to engage.

The introduction to the 2025 Education Sunday theme has been written by Rev Viviene Royal, the Executive Head of two alternative provision schools in the West Midlands. She says: “Our work is about being relentless in the search: finding the young person who’s become disconnected, rebuilding trust, and unlocking the door to learning again. We focus on the individual, and one-to-one pastoral support is key. Like the shepherd and the woman, we search and we keep searching.”

Please visit the CTE website to download the Education Sunday resources.

In addition to the usual resources for worship, we will be hosting a webinar helping churches to explore the issues raised by the TV series Adolescence and to consider how churches might respond on Tuesday, 16 September, from 4.30–6 pm.

Thandar Tun 8/20/25 Thandar Tun 8/20/25

Adolescence: a free webinar for churches, 16th Sept 2025, 16:30 - 18:00