Event: 20th July:- for church & community leaders, exploring resources for this year's Prisons Week

There will be an online event on 20th July (10.30-11.30 A.M.) for church and community leaders to explore the theme and resources for this year's Prisons Week (which takes place in October): Journeying from Despair to Hope…

Find out more information and register for this event

“This is an exciting opportunity for Prisons Week and church and community leaders to meet and hear about this year’s campaign, its theme and the prayer resources available, and to consider how we can best encourage others to pray.”

— Prisons Week

(cover photo courtesy of Olia Gozha at Unsplash)

Health Care Chaplains study conference - coming up on 6-7th October

2021 College of Health Care Chaplains (CHCC) Annual Study Conference
October 6th 13:00-16:00 and October 7th 9:30-12:30

Coming up in the autumn - save the date!

The CHCC conference this year will have the theme “What does good look like?” - taking stock of what we have learnt in recent years and looking to the future together.

More details will follow, but it will be online and booking will be via Eventbrite and will be open from September.

(cover photo courtesy of Nathan Lemon at Unsplash)

EXPLORING HEALTHCARE CHAPLAINCY, Autumn 2021 Course

The EXPLORING HEALTHCARE CHAPLAINCY, Autumn 2021 course flyer and handbook, which is run by Network for Pastoral, Spiritual and Religious Care in Health.

The Network for Pastoral, Spiritual and Religious Care in Health (NPSRCH) aims to promote and support high quality, person-centred, pastoral, spiritual, and religious care in acute and community healthcare settings. We value, welcome, and seek to encourage diversity in Healthcare Chaplaincy. The NPSRCH currently includes representatives of Healthcare Chaplaincy organisations from twelve different religion and belief traditions. See network-health.org.uk

The Autumn 2021 course will consist of four half-day sessions of talks and discussion using the Zoom platform.

Photo by Andrew Neel on Unsplash

This course is designed for people who are wondering whether healthcare chaplaincy volunteering is for them. It is for those who are considering volunteering in a hospital or community healthcare setting and can also be valuable for those who are already volunteering. The course explores what it means to be part of a Healthcare Chaplaincy team in the 21st Century, where pastoral, spiritual, and religious care is offered to patients and staff in a multi-faith-and-belief context.

The course is for people from different religions and beliefs and offers an opportunity for the sharing of ideas and opinions across those religions and beliefs. The tutors are experienced healthcare chaplains from different religion and belief traditions.

The Autumn 2021 cohort is subsidised by NHS England and there is no fee on this occasion.

For further information and application details please contact training@network-health.org.uk . Those who complete the course will receive a Completion Certificate. APPLICATIONS MUST BE SUBMITTED BY SEPTEMBER 1ST 2021.

Please see Flyer & Course Handbook.

"Rural Isolation and Loneliness" - a resource for your church, from the Arthur Rank Centre

Rural isolation and loneliness have long been issues across our nations; this has been particularly challenging in recent months. I am pleased to be able to share with you all a toolkit which has been developed by the Arthur Rank Centre to support rural churches with this vital issue.

“It seems that scarcely a week goes by when the local or national media are not expressing concern about isolation or loneliness in our society.
Loneliness can have a profound effect on our physical as well as mental health, highlighted by the World’s experience of COVID-19.”

— says the Arthur Rank Centre

Rural Isolation and Loneliness: A toolkit for rural churches was launched in 2014 when ARC produced a report for churches to use to support loneliness and isolation within their communities. The toolkit has recently been updated and refreshed – there is also a version available in the Welsh language.

(cover photo by Bonnie Kittle @ Unsplash)

Blinded By Your Grace... an awesome cover of Stormzy's song!

In these strange times, much of what we have done in our working lives has been different to usual. We may not have been able to visit those in our care or those we support as part of our ministry. Whilst this has been a challenge at times, many of us have been finding innovative and inspiring ways to work around the restrictions to reach people!

I am delighted to share with you a recording of a song by a singing group - ‘B-Naturals’ - it is a cover version of the classic Stormzy track!

They say, “We're a collective of musicians from various Brentwood Churches who enjoy playing together for various gigs. This recording was done to replace one of our regular visits to a local prison chapel. Hoping to go again once we see the back of COVID... ”

I hope that you enjoy this as much as I have and I pray that those whom it was able to reach in prison have been encouraged and inspired by this! A BIG SHOUT OUT to all of the prison chaplaincy volunteers who performed this song for us to enjoy, all their church fellowships and all the prisoners and prison staff they serve in their ministry. Thank you for all you do, in the name of Jesus. Amen

“I said a prayer this morning
I prayed I would find the way
To another day, I was so afraid
’Til... You came and saved me”

— Stormzy

(cover photo courtesy of Jackson David at Unsplash)