Free Churches Group, Health and Social Care Chaplains Study Day

Moral Injury, Staff Support and Looking After Ourselves

Free Churches Group, Health and Social Care Chaplains Study Day

27 Tavistock Square, London WC1H 9HH

Tuesday June 20th 10:30 to 15:30

Cost: £15 for chaplains whose denomination is a member of the Free Churches Group

 £25 for all other chaplains

Please register your place HERE.

09:45 doors open

10:30 to 11:15 Session one – Introduction to Moral Injury [Katie]

11:25 to 1210 Session two – Supporting Health and Social care staff to Navigate their way Through MI. [Diana]

12:10 to 13:05 Lunch (provided)

13:10 to 13:50 Session three – How we set up staff support work at G&ST [Tracy]

13:55 to 14:40 Session four – Sharing Good Practice [input from the panel and attendees]

15:00 to 15:30 Session five –Self-care and Creative Reflection [Bob]

15:30 cake and conversation for those who want to stay for a little bit extra

The focus of the day will very much be about lived experience rather than academic discussion. A well as the examples that the presenters will share we want to draw on the knowledge of those attending so please do think about examples of good practice from your context that you’d be happy to share in session four. If you have questions you’d like to ask both the presenter and those attending you can email them in advance to Mark at mark.newitt@freechurches.org.uk

A CPD certificate for 4 hours will be available at the end of the day.

Presenter Biographies

Tracy Morgan is originally from New Zealand. She trained as a health care chaplain in 2018 and works at Guy's & St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust. First working in Paediatrics and acute adults, Tracy joined the dedicated staff support chaplaincy team that was formed in response to the Covid 19 pandemic in November 2021.

Diana Steadman worked in education and guidance before training in pastoral ministry at Spurgeon’s College. She is currently serving as Staff Wellbeing Chaplain at Kingston Hospital NHS Trust where from 2017 she has been establishing the role working alongside a Physiotherapist, Clinical Psychologist and Mind-Body Practitioner as part of an in-house Staff Wellbeing Team. Diana is now responsible for creatively supporting and advocating for the pastoral needs of staff within Unplanned Care, harnessing the tools of reflective practice, pastoral supervision, coaching and other development activities, and by reporting into divisional progress and Trust-wide steering group meetings.

Katie Watson is Head of Chaplaincy at Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. She has served there for 15 years. Prior to this she was a Military Police Officer in the British Army with operational experience in Bosnia and Croatia during the early 90s and Northern Ireland during the conflict. She runs ultra distance trails and does so that cake can be a major factor in her diet.

Bob Whorton is retired from Healthcare Chaplaincy but continues to work as a reflective supervisor. His interests are in creativity, writing, embodiment and the use of the imagination.

Note: If you are a Free Church Healthcare Chaplain, please contact Thandar at thandar.tun@freechurches.org.uk for a discounted price. The member denominations list is available to view here.

Photo by Dim Hou on Unsplash

Baptist Chaplains Day

Book your place on our online day for Baptist chaplains
Monday 17 April 2023

I am really looking forward to our chaplains' day on Monday 17 April and I hope to 'meet' many of you online that day!

You can now register. As last year, there will be three standalone sessions, each one on Zoom and lasting approximately 1 hour 45 minutes. They will start at 10am, 2pm and 7pm. You are welcome to register for one, two, or all three sessions. 

(If this button doesn't work, please copy and paste this link into your browser:  https://www.baptist.org.uk/Articles/622117/A_Day_for.aspx)

Those who have registered will be sent joining details and Zoom links in the week before the event. 

Please do pass on the details or forward this email to anyone you know in your network who may be interested. The day is free and is for anyone within Baptists Together who acts as a chaplain in any capacity, regardless of accreditation status, hours spent each week in chaplaincy, or sector (or who maybe thinking about becoming a chaplain.) 

Our keynote speaker is Revd Dr Mark Newitt, the Free Churches Secretary for Healthcare Chaplaincy and part of the chaplaincy team at both a hospital and a hospice in Sheffield. Mark's theme is Ritual and Liturgy in Everyday Encounters. Mark will help us define what ritual and liturgy is and isn't, and then explore how formal and informal ritual and liturgy provides one way of responding to pastoral, spiritual and religious need. 

The day will be structured as follows:

• 1000-1145 Session 1. Some reflective worship led by the Eastern Baptist Association regional team; a video-story from a chaplain; an interview with Diane Watts, BUGB Faith and Society Team Leader; and then a chance to meet, encourage and pray for other chaplains from your own sector in breakout rooms.

• 1400-1545 Session 2. Worship led once more by the EBA regional team; a second video-story from a chaplain, and then Mark's keynote address on Ritual and Liturgy in Everyday Encounters.

• 1900-2045 Session 3. One final act of worship and one final video-story; followed by a panel and breakout rooms to delve more deeply into the subject opened up for us by Mark Newitt in the afternoon.     

I do hope you will be able to join us. However, if you are no longer involved in chaplaincy and would like to stop receiving communication from the Ministries Team about chaplaincy, please let me know by emailing ministries@baptist.org.uk 

On behalf of the Baptists Together Chaplaincy Forum,

Grace and peace,


Tim Fergusson
Ministries Team Co-leader
tfergusson@baptist.org.uk

A bit of Chaplaincy on the Side, a webinar exploring part-time chaplaincy

Monday 5th December from 18:30 to 20:00

Tickets are free and available from Eventbrite here.

Part-time chaplaincy roles come in many shapes and sizes. They may be:

• inherited as part of a church posting

• be carried out as a distinct role separate from church ministry

• a role held alongside secular employment

Whether you are working part-time as a chaplain, would be interested in doing so, or know someone who should consider doing so(!) this webinar will explore how a part-time chaplaincy role can complement, inspire and inform other roles and areas of work and look at some of the pathways to becoming a chaplain.

With input from

• The Revd Canon Helen Cameron: Chair of the Methodist Northampton District and Moderator of the Free Church Group

• Gary Hopkins: Methodist Ministry Development Officer for Chaplaincy

• Suzanne Nockels: Congregational Church Minister and Chaplain at Sheffield Children’s Hospital

• Tas Cooper, Quaker Chaplain at Oxford University and a freelance Spanish to English translator

• Bob Wilson: Secretary for Prison Chaplaincy and Free Churches Faith Advisor and chaplain at HMP Wayland

• Mark Newitt: Secretary for Healthcare Chaplaincy and part of the chaplaincy teams at Sheffield Teaching Hospitals and St Luke’s Hospice

The event flyer is available to download here.

Image by Gundula Vogel from Pixabay

A Day in the Life of a University Chaplain

A Day in the Life

The restaurant on campus is always a good place to meet people, students and staff. This morning over breakfast I chatted with a member of catering staff who told me she had just put in her resignation. We chatted about her reasons for leaving, about her loyalty and commitment to the university and about how leaving felt right, but how her decision was tinged with sorrow. Some of the changes made by the new catering company have not been easy for staff to manage. Going across to the main reception, there was opportunity for a brief chat with reception staff as I informed them I was expecting a visitor the following day: the local police community cohesion officer. All visitors’ names have to be recorded. The Chaplaincy Centre on campus is open every weekday from 9.00am; students were already making tea and coffee when I arrive; the large sofa is a good place to chat with students, one worrying about an imminent presentation, another is concerned as she felt too ill to go to her part-time job, another wanting to talk about how to balance the paid work she has to do to support herself and full time studies.

After lunch, it’s time for some preparation for the holding of a vigil on campus commemorating recent deaths in a terrorist attack overseas; firstly, getting the permission to use the very open public space at the entrance to the university and secondly, checking that no major university events were taking place which would mean it could be difficult to hold a vigil. As guests on campus, the chaplains are always in the position of having to negotiate on use of space and about events. Responses to the enquiries are all positive, so the next step is to talk with our part-time Muslim chaplain who comes onto campus every Tuesday; he is happy to change the time of his visit, so he can participate in the vigil as it’s important that the university Muslim community and the local Muslim community feel supported. The Chaplaincy Centre is busy today with students dropping in, between lectures, or hanging around because, for some, today is a ‘no lecture day’. It’s been said that the Chaplaincy Centre is a ‘home from home’, particularly for international students and those from the EU. The centre is cosy and warm; the Chaplaincy Assistant offers a welcome and hospitality and makes a cracking cup of Fairtrade coffee! At my desk, I have added the new Student Union CEO to the Fairtrade group and circulated proposed meeting dates for our next university Fairtrade meeting, a group I am privileged to chair. At its next meeting we will review Fairtrade Fortnight and start to plan, with the university environmental officer, for a spectacular Fairtrade Fortnight in 2020. Our Chaplaincy Assistant is off to do the shopping for the Global lunch which regularly takes place on Tuesdays in the Chaplaincy Centre.

Last task of the working day for me is to have a phone conversation with a former student who has created a Bedford branch of a mental health charity, originally founded by a current PhD student, on one of our other campuses. As vice chair of the Bedford branch, I have been standing in for her, as chair, while she cares for a close relative. One of our regular Chaplaincy volunteers is also a mentor for students and today she has used our space to see some of her student clients; it’s quiet, and away from the hustle and bustle of the main part of campus. Many of her clients also become regular visitors to the Chaplaincy Centre as they feel happy in a space where they can simply be themselves. The Scrabble board is out and so is Four in a Row, our late-night opening has become a games night! Revd Cass Howes, Methodist, Co-ordinating Chaplain (multifaith chaplaincy), University of Bedfordshire.

For more information about HE chaplaincy and the work the FCG are doing in this area:

What makes a good chaplain?
Higher education - Free Churches Group

Free Churches Group Higher Education Pray for your local universities and those from your congregation who are studying at university.
Reaching out to universities – a church resource for you!
Documents and Publications

Let us pray - Throughout the academic university year: Majestic God, as students aim higher and develop their God-given potential, give students firm foundations in your wisdom, rooted in your love and stability. We pray for the tutors and chaplains in universities - loving God, give them the wisdom, clarity and patience to support the students and staff with compassion. In Jesus’ precious name, Amen

A digital copy of this can be found here

About Prison Chaplaincy

"Prison! Me? No way!". I now know this to be the title of an innovative programme run by Prison Officers to introduce secondary school children to the realities of prison life. In 1993 however, this was my response when an enthusiastic member of my church announced "a door has opened for effective ministry in prison". Nearly twenty years later I have spent a considerable part of my life and ministry working in various establishments of incarceration in varied roles. "Prison! Me? Absolutely!"

Working in Prison Chaplaincy can be both an immensely rewarding and frustrating experience. It combines traditional church ministry as many would understand: leading worship; running bible studies; preaching and teaching; offering pastoral care, along with a radical cross- cultural opportunity. Apart from the diverse cultural mix of people in prisons, there is the culture of prison itself to work with. Chaplaincy is never dull!

Let me outline a day in the life of a Prison Chaplain:

0800 arrive at prison, meet with multi-faith team. Pick up any messages from through the night. These could include information about self-harm, death of relatives of prisoners, or messages from worried family members. At this point the team will also work out how many prisoners were admitted the previous day and agree who will go to see them. The plan for the day is shaping up.

0830 meet prisoners on their way to work; managing chaplain will often go to attend Governor's daily briefing

0845 embark on priority work - this will include visiting all prisoners who have arrived in the last 24hrs, visiting healthcare, visiting the special care and segregation unit and seeing prisoners vulnerable to self harm.

1200 ... breathe, remember to breathe ... then paperwork for volunteers' coming into the prison, religious registration, Chaplains log, etc....

1230 lunch; maybe a staff prayer meeting / pastoral work with staff

1300 begin preparations for afternoon; catch up with rest of team on how things are going, prepare for up-coming events eg Sunday worship

1345 meet prisoners on way to work in afternoon. Often afternoons are used for more structured work, eg. One to one support, resettlement work, pastoral visits, victim awareness and other structured courses, etc....

1700 evening activities. Bible studies, meditation classes, fellowship groups, music practice, informal support groups etc.... often involving management and supervision of chaplaincy volunteers.

1830 time of prayer? Ensure that any issues raised during the evening are followed through eg. Prisoners feeling vulnerable, security issues, family concerns. Complete chaplains log.

1900 Check chapel is Secure and go home!
 

 ... not to mention breaking bad news, marrying prisoners, arranging religious festivals, praying with people (staff and prisoners), having discussions about faith, escorting volunteers, ordering tea and coffee, loaning books, blessing rosary beads, hearing heartbreaking stories, attending equality / security / management meetings ....

If you are still reading then for you it is probably a case of "Prison! Me? Absolutely". If you are a minister, lay or ordained, and would like to find out more, then please contact me. Vacancies do come up from time to time, and it would be good to discuss with you how to take things forward.

All things change in life, but these three remain ... Faith, hope and love. Prison Chaplains help people discover and grow in faith, whatever that faith may be. Prison Chaplains offer hope that life can and does change. Prison Chaplains offer unconditional care and support, or love, wherever and with whoever they work. Who would want to do anything else?

Rev Bob Wilson MTh
Free Churches Faith Advisor
(SfPC)