'Her words lit a fire in me' - one chaplain's path to pursuing her vocation
On Sunday November 1, Jean Bowerman was commissioned as the seventeenth Anna Chaplain in the Diocese of Peterborough, and the first in the town of Rushden,
at St Peter’s Church.
Liz Kelly, the Diocesan Lead for Anna Chaplaincy and local trainer, said, “It was a really uplifting service from start to finish, led by the Rector, the Venerable Simon Heathfield. After I introduced Anna Chaplaincy, Jean gave her testimony and talked about what had led her to today.”
She said: 'It’s nearly 10 years since I completed two years training for Lay Pastoral Ministry and, soon after I was licensed, I was asked if I had ever considered Anna Chaplaincy? I hadn’t heard about Anna Chaplaincy before, but I took the leaflet I was given and stored it away. At that time, after two years of study, I felt that I needed to embrace all I had learned and further my pastoral ministry before taking on anything else.
Over the past nine years God has shown me many aspects of pastoral ministry, which has given me confidence to carry out His work, and as is necessary, I have kept up my training to be relicensed every three years to carry on this ministry.
Last year, I was taken out of my ‘comfort zone’ and physically away from my church family at St Peter’s in Rushden. For three months I was needed to care for my daughter who lives in Spain, following a serious road traffic accident. The prayers and support I received from my church family while I was away helped me through this very difficult time. Thankfully, my daughter made a good recovery and I returned home.
If I had been in the UK at this time, I would have completed all the necessary paperwork and training needed to be relicensed again, but by the time we returned home, to be honest, I was quite drained and felt exhausted. I was thinking that all I wanted was to be, without any obligations, and when I eventually returned to church, I just wanted to sit quietly without engaging with anyone. I wasn’t even sure if I wanted to carry on with my pastoral ministry.
But God had other plans, and I soon began readjusting to life back home, and finding I was effortlessly being drawn into pastoral caring, conversations, and prayer again.
Having missed the deadline to renew my licence at the cathedral, I phoned a friend - a fellow Lay Pastoral Minister with whom I had trained - to explain that I would not be joining her at the relicensing ceremony this time. She then went on to tell me she had recently been commissioned as an Anna Chaplain and explained how this was enhancing her ministry focusing on the elderly.'
'Her words lit a fire in me, and I thought back to the time I first heard about this ministry.'
'Then a communication from the Diocese arrived in my inbox with a video of Liz talking about Anna Chaplaincy, with a reminder about the upcoming Explore Day. So, I enrolled for the Explore Day, went along, and joined the group talking about Anna Chaplaincy, and, without much hesitation, signed up for the online six-week training course.'
'I saw all this as God’s nudge, and an answer to my prayers at a time when I just wasn’t quite sure where or what I should do next.'
With the support and encouragement of the diocese, I completed the requirements for relicensing my Pastoral Care ministry and was relicensed at St Peter’s last November. Then in January 2026, I undertook the Anna Chaplaincy course where I learned so much, including the realisation that this is what, in part, I do already. Also, meeting and talking to other Anna Chaplains, who shared their experiences of the privilege of being able to walk alongside the elderly was truly inspiring.
I’m looking forward to this new chapter, and I’m already making good connections with the residents and staff at a local residential care home, where I pop in during their coffee mornings, and help with the monthly afternoon church services. I’m working alongside the Events Manager and hope to start Messy Vintage sessions there in the near future.
My church family hasn’t been abandoned, as listening and enjoying the company of our older generation at our coffee mornings and events have, and will always be, a joy to me. What a privilege! I give thanks to God for the many people who have encouraged, supported, and walked alongside me through my up and downs over the last few years.'
During the commissioning prayer, the ministry team came and placed their hands on Jean as a sign of her being chosen by God to minister among older people in her community, and at the end of the service, Jean gave the dismissal. The celebrations then continued with refreshments, which were enjoyed by the whole congregation.
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