Fascinating focus on a Shropshire Anna Chaplaincy
- debbiethrower0
- 30 minutes ago
- 3 min read
As part of exploring ways that Church takes the message of a loving God out into communities, the Anglican Diocese of Hereford has showcased the work of Anna Chaplain Jane Peeler in Bridgnorth.
Introducing her ministry to a wider audience, the diocesan website quotes the national church saying, 'because chaplains are present with the 95% who will not regularly visit a place of worship, many people do encounter them and journey with chaplaincy as they explore questions of life and faith.'
The article certainly illustrates the variety within her role; as Jane goes care home visiting; spends time at a hospital-based dementia cafe; at a monthly lunch club; there are sandwich van meet ups; or she simply finds herself stopped by people in the street for a chat on account of being a well-recognised local face.
Poignantly, Jane speaks of how easily older people can start to feel invisible to others:
'In today’s world,' she says, 'I think there can be a culture of ‘ghosts’ – people who come into town on the bus, use the self check-out at the shops, go home again on the bus and don’t interact with anyone at all, hardly. So I try to find out their names and make a point to say them out loud. Someone said to me, “I’m not a ghost am I, Jane,” I replied, “No, Norah, you’re not a ghost!”'
Jane has been an Anna Chaplain since 2021 and is also a LLM (Reader) which enables her to also take funerals. Many of her contacts in the community, which are by no means only with older people, have come as a result of her funeral ministry.
'There’s a lot of joy in being an Anna Chaplain, but sometimes all you can do is sit and pray and cry with someone, which, surprisingly, can be a blessing. I worked in education for nearly 30 years and a few months ago, a former student passed away. The family asked for me to do the funeral, which I can as a Reader, and of 300 people there I probably knew a good 75% of them. The role is focused on older people, but they don’t exist in isolation.'
Supporting relatives of all ages, for example, in coming to terms with a loved one's illness or with a bereavement is part and parcel of the role: 'What’s important about Anna Chaplaincy is that the work is unique in each place, and it’s not just about older people.'
'Older people have families whom they care about and who care about them, and many people in the community likewise are looking out for older people and feel they have a stake in their wellbeing, so many of them talk to me!'
Jane was the second Anna Chaplain to be commissioned in the diocese, after her colleague Diane Bates, who is in the West Hereford Team. To educate people about spiritual care in later life Jane is now running BRF's Spiritual Care Series:
'It’s an eight-week course at the Methodist church, with 12 free places funded by the diocese and a local donor. The places were snapped up! It is a lot of work... but God calls and it’s right to do it, and Jesus is right there in the middle of it all.'
You may read the full article at https://www.hereford.anglican.org/news/chaplaincy-stories-jane-peeler-anna-chaplain.php?mc_cid=ed14dc6bf4&mc_eid=dbf16aae6f
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