Free Church Healthcare Chaplains Study Day

Photo by Nicole Honeywill

Date: Thursday 8th November 2018, 11:00-16:15

Venue: Free Churches House, 27 Tavistock Square, London WC1H 9HH

Free Church Health Care Chaplains are invited to join the study day at Free Churches House on 8th November 2018.

What to Expect

Photo by Tim Marshall

The day will include the update information of the Healthcare Chaplaincy, Mental Health First Aid Course (Limited for 16 participants at the cost of £15 for the course materials), the update on Community Chaplaincy and a Prayer Walk. Lunch and refreshments will be provided on the day.

Programme

10:30 am Coffee/Tea

11:00 am Welcome

11.05 am Opening Worship

11-15 am Update on National Picture, Regional Meetings and ‘What’s on your agenda?’

12:00 pm Mental Health First Aid Course for up to 16 participants (£15 for the course materials)

Lunch

Update on Community Chaplaincy

A Prayer walk

4.15 pm Closing remark

I would be very grateful if you could return the completed booking form at your earliest convenience. The booking form is available here. For more information and booking, please contact Thandar at 02036518338 or email at thandar.tun@freechurches.org.uk

We look forward to seeing you on 8th November.

Debbie Hodge

Secretary for Healthcare Chaplaincy, Free Churches Group

This information is available to download here.

Story about the Community Chaplaincy

Photo by Rita Vicari

So, you don’t go to church but…

Often people in hospital who may have not declared a faith or belief affiliation find comfort and support from the pastoral and spiritual care given by the Chaplaincy team, but what happens when they go home?

In Doncaster the role of Community Chaplaincy has been explored in relation to end of life care. For these patients, the support in terms of spiritual and pastoral care for them and their families is high on the agenda when in hospital or the hospice, but when they go home it can be a very different story.

A team of volunteers were trained in Community Chaplaincy support and, with support from GPs and palliative care, staff were enabled to visit patients in their own homes. Once patients were advised that the service was available, community chaplaincy visitors were then given the referral from the GP practice, contacting the patient to arrange a visit.

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Story One

The female patient was referred to us as someone who was missing contact with her church. She was allocated to one of our volunteers who is active in her own church, of a different denomination from that of the patient. At the initial visit the volunteer was welcomed very positively, both by the patient and her husband. The patient was in the last months of life and appeared to have difficulty talking, or at least talking made things hard for her. The volunteer and the patient jointly decided that it was not necessary for there to be face to face visits. Instead contact was made for a while by telephone and then, when talking became even more difficult, contact was maintained by the volunteer sending the patient bible reading notes and prayers, which the patient very much appreciated. Towards the end of her life, the patient was admitted to the hospice and the volunteer visited her there. She reported that speech was even more difficult. [The nurses on the ward, and the specialist palliative care nurse all reported that the patient's speech was not causing her difficulty; indeed she used her voice to make her husband's life quite miserable, both at home and in the hospice, but the volunteer did not see this.]

The patient returned home to die and her husband rang the volunteer to let her know and to tell her where and when the funeral was taking place. The volunteer said that they had quite a long conversation and she asked me if it would be all right to attend. I confirmed that it would and that, as the service is for patients and their families, if she felt the husband would welcome her continued support, it was all right to offer.

Visits were arranged depending on the needs of the patient and their family - usually once a week. Most visits lasted no more that approximately 45 mins.

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Story Two

The male patient was referred to us as someone who, as he was approaching the end of his life, was remembering a difficult beginning to his life and needed to talk about it. He was not religious but agreed to the referral. The volunteer, also active in her church, visited him at home. His wife was present and the volunteer said that he did not say very much. Our feeling was that he had opened up so much to the specialist palliative care nurse that he no longer needed our input in depth. He and his wife both said that they were pleased the volunteer had visited but that as he was able to get out quite a lot, they didn't feel the need for regular contact. However, the patient said that if the volunteer happened to be passing, it would be all right for her to call in. This she did on several occasions and mostly it was a chat on the doorstep, but sometimes she was invited in, especially when his wife was out. This was when the patient opened up more. The volunteer invited them to some non-church activities and they attended one. The patient is very gradually becoming worse and his ability to get out of the house is lessening. The volunteer continues to maintain contact.

The delivery of intentional spiritual care (Community Chaplaincy Support) is based on the model developed by Revd Debbie Hodge (2015). The four stages of the model are Encounter, Relationship, Transaction and Reflection as shown below. Under each stage is a description of the indicative content.

The aim of intentional spiritual care is to replace ‘Pain’ in the diagram below with ‘Peace’

This change is achieved when Spiritual care needs are met and the individual is at ‘ease’ with themselves and their situation, and may be related to faith or belief, understanding, resilience, relationships and self-awareness.

For more about this story contact debbie.hodge@freechurches.org.uk or meg.burton@freechurches.org.uk

 This story is available to download here.

SPIRITUAL CARE IN COMMUNITY HEALTH CARE SETTINGS – COMMUNITY CHAPLAINCY PROGRAMME

Date: Thursday 4th October 2018 & Tuesday 5th February 2019

Location: Free Churches House, 27 Tavistock Square, London, WC1H 9HH

For those who connected with a faith community there is both social and spiritual support. For those who aren’t where is their spiritual support in times of health care crisis?

This day will be based on the shared experience of individuals working in Community Health Care Chaplaincy and will enable participants to build their plan to make a difference in their community.

This is an opportunity for the church to make a significant contribution to the health and well-being of the local community.

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Programme

Tea and Coffee available from 10.30am

11:00 Welcome and opening prayers

11:10 What is community Chaplaincy?

The principles and model of care

The story of Soweto

11:45 Transferring the model to the UK

The story of Doncaster

The story of Lincoln

12:30 Lunch

13:30 What might this look like in your church?

Connections

Practicalities

Support

14:30 What else do we need?

15:00 Round up and closing prayers.

15:15 Home time

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Lunch and refreshments will be provided.

The cost is £10 for a day and you are advised to book early as places are limited.

For more information, please contact Thandar Tun (thandar.tun@freechurches.org.uk or 02036518338).

To book a place, please complete and return the booking form to thandar.tun@freechurches.org.uk or post to Free Churches Group, 27 Tavistock Square, London, WC1H 9HH.

This programme is available to download here.

Engaging with the Issues

A series of Round Table Discussions on topics that are engaging the hearts and minds of the Community, the churches, local and national government at Free Church House, 27 Tavistock Square, London, WC1H 9HH.

 

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Spiritual Care in Community Health Care Settings – Community Chaplaincy

Thursday 4th October 2018 & Tuesday 5th February 2019    

For those who connected with a faith community there is both social and spiritual support. For those who aren’t where is their spiritual support in times of health care crisis? This day will be based on the shared experience of individuals working in Community Health Care Chaplaincy and will enable participants to build their plan to make a difference in their community.

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Dementia – caring for the carers as well as those who have dementia

Wednesday 3rd April 2019

The rate of increase in the incidence of dementia means that everyone knows someone who has dementia or who is caring for someone with dementia. This day will enable churches and individuals to learn from others in looking at opportunities to these needs in the local community.

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Dying Matters

Thursday 29th November 2018

It’s a certainty – we will all die. This day will enable participants to explore the contemporary aspects of death and dying and look at ways to provide safe spaces when matter of death and dying may be explored. Ways of meeting the spiritual needs of those who are dying and their families will also be discussed.

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Each day will begin with coffee/ tea and registration at 10.30 with a formal start at 11am and finish at approx. 3.30pm, lunch and refreshments will be provided.

The cost is £10 for each day and you are advised to book early as places are limited.

Please contact Thandar Tun (thandar.tun@freechurches.org.uk) with any questions.

This information is accessible to download here.

To book please complete and return the booking form.

Christmas Greetings to you all

It’s that time of the year when we begin to reflect on a year gone by, to look forward to remembering the events in Bethlehem a long time ago and onwards to a new year.

It’s been a busy year in the Chaplaincy world. The Chaplaincy Leadership Forum and the Network for Pastoral, Spiritual and Religious care have formed a new group - Healthcare Chaplaincy Forum for Pastoral, Spiritual and Religious Care launched on December 1st 2017.

The new procurement system for NHS Chaplaincy Project funding has been changed, and tested – now we await the outcome of the bidding process. Once known the work streams for the next 2 years will be announced. This we hope to do before Christmas.

Changes are ever present and on the committees we have some vacancies. The Free Churches Group needs to recruit the following –

·         A Free Church Chaplain to join the Network for Pastoral, Spiritual and Religious Care in Health (The faith and Belief Group). The Network meets 3 – 4 times a year in London, and the nominated individual has the responsibility of bring news and concerns, ideas and proposals from their sending faith community and sharing the work of the Network back into the sending community.

·         A Free Church Chaplain to share in the work of the Health Care Chaplaincy Steering Committee that has responsibility to promote Chaplaincy from a Free Church perspective, support Free Church Chaplains and support the work of the Secretary for Free Church Chaplaincy. This group meets twice a year face to face with audio calls as necessary.

Do get in touch if you would like to explore these opportunities further.

Another key change is in my working pattern. From January 1st I will be working half time. I have some interesting opportunities I want to follow up and to enjoy both my work and these new things I need to make space in the diary. To facilitate this change the Free Churches Group have engaged Red Meg Burton to cover the ‘other half’ of the week – although in reality we will be job sharing and ensuring that all work is covered. Some of you will know Meg already, and I am sure you will make her feel welcome and benefit from her knowledge and expertise especially in End of Life Care.

Over the past few weeks I have been reminded about the challenges to individuals and their families and friends when serious illness strikes, particularly at this time of the year, and was minded to write the following:-

Holy Child of Bethlehem, you started your earthly life in a borrowed manger,

Your arrival noted by the isolated and the weary.

Yet with your arrival the world was opened to new possibilities of hope, love and peace.

This Christmas we pray for those who are sick, at home or in hospital,

those whose pain cannot be seen,

those who fear the night and those for whom  the day is too long.

Let us also pray for  those who will care in homes and in hospital,  those who will acknowledge the pain that cannot be seen,

 those who will share the dark of the night and the  length of the day.

May they all be reminded of the gift of hope, love and peace that came down at Christmas.

And for those of us who are well enough to share time with friends and family, let us be thankful, mindful of the needs of others and willing to play our part to share Gods love. Amen.                                                                                                                   

May you all be richly blessed this Christmas time,

Debbie

debbie.hodge@freechurchesgroup.org.uk

December 2017

This Christmas Newsletter 2017 is available to download here.