Commissioning of four New Anna Chaplains in Berkshire

debbiethrower0
11 hours ago
4 min read

New Anna Chaplains Steven Pugh, Yvonne Hunt, Jennifer Hippolyte and Anne Stopher

Julia Burton-Jones from the national Anna Chaplaincy team at BRF was pleased to attend and speak at the commissioning service for four new Anna Chaplains at Thatcham Methodist Church on Sunday June 14.

This was the second group of Anna Chaplains trained by Berkshire and Hampshire Borders Methodist Circuit in partnership with Churches Together in Thatcham and OneChurch Basingstoke.

Tadley commissioning service, July 20 last year

A team of 14 Anna Chaplains and 4 Anna Friends were commissioned in July 2025 at Tadley and many of the first cohort were present to support their four new Anna Chaplains at the service in Thatcham – Anne Stopher, Jennifer Hippolyte, Yvonne Hunt and Steven Pugh.

Karen Frost (far right) with the new Thatcham team

Karen Frost, Anna Chaplain and Pastoral Development Worker for the Methodist Circuit, trained the new Anna Chaplains, using the Spiritual Care Series (About the Spiritual Care Series | Anna Chaplaincy | BRF), co-facilitating the course with local minister the Revd Claire Simpson. Julia also worked with the group, delivering a Zoom follow-up session about Anna Chaplaincy. The service was held at Thatcham Methodist, Karen’s church, with wonderful refreshments afterwards provided by the congregation.

Julia interviewed Anne and Jennifer from Thatcham Baptist about their experience of taking the training and their sense of calling to older people’s ministry. They were supported by friends and family, and their pastor the Revd David Taylor, who gave the final blessing. Steven is from Basingstoke Church which spans five locations in Basingstoke. Having worked previously on a county-wide project to bring creatives and therapists into care homes, he recalls being asked by staff to find sources of spiritual care for residents – he is delighted that he can now fulfil this request as Anna Chaplain!

Yvonne works as Children, Families and Young Persons Outreach Worker for Basingstoke Methodist Churches – this role includes an intergenerational focus which she is looking forward to developing as Anna Chaplain.

Jennifer said:

‘I feel so privileged to be part of this worthwhile cause. It was a real pleasure to train with such a supportive and encouraging group and it was really nice to be together again for the commissioning service. We received our certificates and lanyards with honour, and I can’t wait to go out into our community as an Anna Chaplain to do the work God has planned for me.’

Yvonne commented:

'The majority of the volunteers I work with are of the older generation, and many have been retired for years. They can become frustrated and disappointed in being unable to do what they used to and can feel a loss in purpose. Through the training I will be able to support these volunteers as they progress through later life, helping them transition into the next phase.'

'The course brought to my attention how much change older people face and how we can support them through those changes.’

Anne reflected afterwards:

‘My journey with Anna Chaplaincy began with a phone call, would I be interested in attending an Anna Chaplaincy course and really it didn’t take me very long to decide yes, I would. Growing up I had a lot of elderly relatives and I do feel comfortable around the older generation, talking and sharing stories; they have time to give and a wealth of wisdom which I feel can sometimes get overlooked.

I shared the course with three others who were a joy and it was a privilege to share thoughts and ideas with them; I think we all found that the course was quite enlightening for ourselves as we chatted about personal relationships and our own feelings.'

'The day came of our commissioning service and how lovely for it to be given such significance and importance, it truly made me feel that I am part of something special and worthwhile and I know that there is always a good support team backing me up as I now look to where God might lead me as an Anna Chaplain.'

Steven said:

‘A big thank you to all the Berkshire and Hampshire Borders Methodists Team, volunteers, and worship team for hosting an impressive commissioning service and reception. It brought us all together to celebrate the meaning of becoming Anna Chaplains and the important and valuable work we are all about to undertake with older persons.'

Julia reflected on the wealth of support for this growing, ecumenical team in Basingstoke, Thatcham and Tadley. Using the Spiritual Care Series to train in-person has been a great way of building connections in the team and forming a supportive learning community. Karen’s hard work in both training the team and arranging a wonderful celebration event for their commissioning is testament to her passion for Anna Chaplaincy which began when she trained with Debbie Thrower at Cliff College several years ago.