Anna Chaplain Gill Thompson from Ridgeway Benefice in Oxfordshire was one of many chaplains from a variety of contexts attending a conference at Christ Church this week, run by the diocese of Oxford:
‘The conference looked at the model of chaplaincy as a gift to the church; that chaplains are distinctive and inclusive; that they live and share faith outside the church, to a large extent.’
‘Because we are on the edge of the church, we have to talk two languages, leading to a need to translate between the two.
‘Mike Haslam, chaplaincy adviser, talked about the work he has been doing both in the diocese of Bath and Wells and nationally.
‘Clare Hayns spoke about the challenges and opportunities of chaplaincy using four different images. It was an excellent talk and touched on so many aspects of chaplaincy.
‘The bishop of Oxford, Steven Croft, was very encouraging and used the road to Emmaus story in Luke to talk more about the distinctive nature of chaplaincy.
‘Overall, it was so encouraging to talk to chaplains ministering in lots of different settings, from prisons, hospitals, schools and the Armed Forces, to universities and so on.
‘The archdeacon of Oxford, Jonathan Chaffey welcomed us as Anna Chaplains, specifically, in the introductions. It felt like a really significant opportunity, with Anna Chaplaincy very much coming onto the radar of the diocese.’
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