Thursday, March 4, 2027 • 10 AM - 4:30 PM
University of Roehampton London, Roehampton Ln, London SW15 5PH
Expert pastoral, spiritual and religious care requires ways of being that are difficult to define. The use of self and need for professional
As with previous CoNNECT days, our aim is to bring together practitioners, educators, researchers, and those involved in supporting, developing, and providing chaplaincy and pastoral care across different contexts. The programme offers time to talk informally with others and to build connections across different chaplaincy contexts - to connect and learn from one another.
Taking in views from across those different perspectives, the day aims to investigate the knowledge, skills and behaviour that a chaplain might be expected to develop or inhabit, exploring where this is shared language and where there are differences. Our speakers for the day are:
Kate Bruce – Kate is a Chaplain in the Royal Air Force and currently an RAF Instructor at the Armed Forces. Chaplaincy Centre. Having read English and Religious Studies at the University of Leeds and taught English at secondary school in Yorkshire, she later trained for ordination, serving in Ripon and Durham. She obtained a PhD in homiletics in 2013 from the University of Durham, and Igniting the Heart is based on her thesis Kate has been chaplain to three of the Durham colleges, Van Mildert, Trevelyan and St John’s and has also been Tutor in Homiletics and Deputy Warden at Cranmer Hall, St John’s, of which she remains an Honorary Visiting Fellow. Kate has been instrumental in establishing the Durham Preaching Conferences, aimed at fostering and promoting good preaching, and she continues to lead other preaching workshops. In 2021 and 2024, Kate published, in two volumes with Liz Shercliff, Out of the Shadows: Preaching the Women of the Bible, exploring how women, often marginalised in biblical narratives, can be viewed anew and have their stories communicated better. Outside academia and ministry, Kate has written and performed in stand-up comedy and has appeared at the Edinburgh Fringe.
Mark Evans - Mark started his working life as a staff nurse within surgical high dependency and ITU in NHS Lothian and has since worked in a variety of health and social care settings. For the past 20 years, he was Head of Spiritual Care and Bereavement Lead for NHS Fife. Mark was then appointed the National Lead and Professional Advisor for Spiritual Care within the Scottish Government. Recently Mark was appointed Head of Service for Spiritual Care & Bereavement Lead in NHS Lothian and continues as a Professional Advisor to the Scottish Government.
Andrew Parker - Since 2019, Andrew has served as Professor of Sports Ministry at Ridley Hall, Cambridge where he teaches and supervises students across the sports ministry/chaplaincy spectrum. Between 2008-2018 he was Professor of Sport and Christian Outreach at the University of Gloucestershire. Prior to this he was Associate Professor in the Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Warwick (1999-2008) where he completed his PhD (1992-1997). Alongside his duties at Ridley, Andrew is currently Honorary Professor in the Department of Health at the University of Bath, and Visiting Professor in the College of Business and Law at the University of the West of England (UWE). With over 200 published articles, working papers and commissioned reports to his name (including 12 co/edited books), he is an established international scholar whose work is accessible to a wide audience. Andrew’s research interests centre around sports ministry and chaplaincy, and sport and marginalised youth.
With our tongues somewhat in cheek, part of the day will ask whether the ability to make a cup of tea/coffee is an essential chaplaincy skill. As part of that, we’d love to have several short stories as part of the day where the offering of a cuppa led to the deepening of a pastoral care opportunity. Please let us know if you’ve such a story you’d like to share.
The day will run from 10:00 for gathering and conversations with the first session at 10:45. The day will finish by 16:30.
The day will cost £50, reduced to £35 for FCG members. Please contact Thandar at thandar.tun@freechurches.org.uk for a discount code, including your name, position, and denomination.
