Walking alongside older people in faith' - a Norfolk Anna Chaplain's perspective
Jonathan Webster, Anna Chaplain in the Ouse Valley, West Norfolk, has been reflecting on what it is really like growing older today:
'Old age is frequently described as “not for the faint-hearted”. A quote often attributed to Bette Davis is used to capture the physical and emotional demands of ageing, along with the strength and resilience it can require.
Having worked with older people as a Registered Nurse for most of my career, what has become clear to me is that older people are not a homogeneous group. Each person has their own desires, aspirations, experiences and hopes. An older person is as much a “person” as you and me. At the same time, ageing can bring significant physical, psychological and emotional challenges, often linked to changing health and care needs. Society can also project images of older age that pigeonhole and stereotype older people — images that are not always positive.
My journey to becoming an Anna Chaplain has taken a number of years. I have always recognised the importance of spiritual wellbeing as part of my nursing role, frequently involving Hospital Chaplaincy Teams in people’s care along with finding time to be “still” and “listening” in my own practice. However, hospital care is only a small — though significant — part of an older person’s journey through health and care services. What happens at home, wherever that may be, is of real importance for the older person. What saddens me is that, for some older people, changes in their health and care needs can leave them isolated from their faith community. For some, that faith has been of central importance: a bedrock throughout their life.
For me, Anna Chaplaincy is about helping people who wish to stay connected, or reconnect, with the central importance of their faith at a time when they may be facing the physical and emotional demands of ageing. It is about walking alongside the person in faith, hearing their life story, and listening to their hopes and fears for the future — no matter how long or short that future might be.
As an Anna Chaplain working across rural villages in West Norfolk, I see significant challenges that older people can face which are different from those experienced by older people living in urban areas. Rural ministry provides many positive opportunities however it can provide challenges in equal measure. Reports such as that produced by Age UK (2021) highlight those challenges older people can face.[1]
A “one size fits all” approach never works. As an Anna Chaplain, I need to be creative and flexible in how I walk alongside older people and the people who support them.
Congregations are becoming older and smaller in many rural churches. At the same time, churches are increasingly grouped together, often with a very small ministry team seeking to meet the spiritual needs of both “young” and “old”. I am an Anna Chaplain as well as a Foundation Governor at a local Church of England Primary School. In both roles, I see a real opportunity for intergenerational ministry: ministry that brings together both young and old, without diluting the uniqueness of older age or the particular needs of both young and old.'
'It is a privilege to work as an Anna Chaplain. There is always so much to learn from older people by listening and walking alongside them at this stage of life. It is not about zealous transformation, it is about being present and journeying with the older person in their faith.'
[1] Age UK (2021) Ageing in coastal and rural communities. Available at: https://www.ageuk.org.uk/our-impact/policy-research/ageing-in-coastal-and-rural-communities/
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