How a former teacher finds herself an Anna Chaplain in Devon...

The latest edition of BRF News https://www.brf.org.uk/brf-ministries-news-january-2026/ tells a fascinating story of how 'a Geordie by birth' has used the skills and values of her career as a primary school teacher to good effect in her role as an Anna Chaplain - in the Devon town of Crediton.

Eileen Brassington based at Holy Cross Church, Crediton, recalls a long involvement with older people beginning with her own grandmother.

'By the time I was 10 she was 70, and she had a fund of stories from life before aeroplanes, cars and the telephone. I used to love and sit and listen to all her tales.'

Eileen went into teaching after training in Sheffield and describes how the underlying values of worth and respect given to every child she taught now inform her approach towards every older person she walks alongside as an Anna Chaplain.

'Anna Chaplaincy is all about meeting older people where they are' says Eileen, 'being alongside them whatever their faith, and giving them your time and listening and letting them talk.'

Read her full story (in the January 2026 edition of BRF News) which includes lovely details such as taking home made lemon curd and a small bouquet of garden sweet peas to those she visits on occasion!