Wales Anna Chaplaincy Conference

debbiethrower0
Oct 14
2 min read

A great day was had by all who were able to meet in Newtown for our Wales Anna Chaplaincy Conference on September 25. Seventeen of us met together, writes Debbie Ducille, and it was wonderful to be able to be together face to face, to share stories of our ministries and to support one another.

We were a mixture of Anna Chaplains and people seeking more information about Anna Chaplaincy ministry and were a truly ecumenical group with Methodist, Baptists, Anglicans, Assembly of God and Presbyterian denominations all being represented.

There were PowerPoint sessions covering an Introduction to Anna Chaplaincy (from Debbie) and a brief history about how Anna Chaplaincy has developed in Wales (from Sally) but the real highlights of the day were from Anna Chaplains who shared experiences of how God is using them and blessing those they meet and minister with in their local community ministry.

Maggie, spoke about projects in mid-Wales; one, a joint venture with a colleague in Aberystwyth entitled 'Celebrating Age' and another on how she is using a resource called 'Lyrics and Lunch' to share friendship and fellowship. She also shared how her chaplaincy gives her opportunities to reach those who gather in her town on market days.

Annette, shared her experiences of setting up a lunch club in her local community and how this has blessed those who come along in this village.

Jan gave us an insight into some of the visits she makes to individuals who are housebound and how God has given her opportunities to meet deep spiritual and religious needs.

Nell and Jilly both shared their experiences of care home ministry in very different care settings using different examples of how they are able to reach residents with God's love, care and worship.

'It was wonderful to be with each other and with people who share the passion for older people and for Anna Chaplaincy. It was a really uplifting day.'

It is hoped that there will be some people who will want to pursue Anna Chaplaincy further following the day. The day was well evaluated and some of the feedback included words such as 'inspirational' and 'joy'.