Anna Chaplains in the Diocese of Winchester were celebrated at a special evensong service at Winchester Cathedral last Sunday.
The service also marked a new partnership with BRF Ministries. This agreement enables every parish to authorise an Anna Chaplain (and Anna Friends) under one simple, centrally funded scheme.
Anna Chaplains are appointed by local churches to meet the spiritual needs of older residents in their communities, whether in care homes or living independently, through visits, memory cafes or community events. Anna Friends volunteer alongside them to provide that invaluable support.
The service was attended by a number of Anna Chaplains and Anna Friends from across the diocese. Among them was Helen Bradish who was one of the first Anna Chaplains and was commissioned in 2017 at St Mary’s Church in Kings Worthy.
She said, “It was a lovely occasion to honour the work of Anna Chaplains. Now the diocese has this licence, they can encourage people to become Anna Chaplains and use Anna Chaplaincy as an effective model for supporting older people in the community of the church and beyond. In the Worthys, our focus in our Tuesdays Place meeting which welcomes around 50 to 60 people each month who come for fun activities and support and we visit them in their homes and in the local care homes. The number that come shows you how important it is to people in the community, and they keep coming because it’s such a life-giving environment and fun and it combats isolation and loneliness which is so detrimental to people’s health.”
Revd Karen West from Tadley added, “It was fantastic to be able to bring a group of eight Anna Chaplains and Anna Friends from across the churches in Tadley to Winchester Cathedral and hear Bishop Rhiannon be so enthusiastic about the importance of ministry to older people, that while there are some things that are challenging about older age, it is still a time when people can continue to meet with God. She spoke about how the role of Anna Chaplains and Friends is to make sure older people know that they can still encounter God and they are still hugely valued. We all came away from the service feeling really encouraged and affirmed!”
The chaplaincy to older people began in Hampshire in 2010. There are now 485 Anna Chaplains across the country and many more Anna Friends. The first Anna Chaplain was former broadcaster and Licensed Lay Minister Debbie Thrower who spoke at the service about Anna Chaplaincy as a way of offering compassionate, person‑centred spiritual care for older people.
About Sunday’s service, she said, “Sunday was a red-letter day for us. We are so pleased the Diocese of Winchester has fully recognised the value of Anna Chaplaincy and is making it firmly part of the diocese’s priorities. Holding a Head Licence Agreement with our central team at BRF Ministries means a simpler process in future for churches wishing to appoint their own Anna Chaplains. Bishop Rhiannon’s vision to see ‘an Anna Chaplain in every benefice’ chimes absolutely with all that we look forward to as well.”
Frances Attwood was the first Anna Chaplain commissioned under the new agreement. She said, “It was very special to meet with other Anna Chaplains who serve within the Diocese, and to discover how many there are of us! I was greatly encouraged by Bishop Rhiannon’s sermon, showing that she not only understands the importance of ministry to older people, but also that she is so much behind us. It is indeed fitting that Winchester Diocese, having given birth to Anna Chaplaincy, takes on this as one of its priorities.”
Bishop Rhiannon highlighted in her sermon that “Children are not the church of tomorrow, they are the church of today, and in the same way, older people are not the church of yesterday, they are the church of today.”
Head of Mission and Ministry Amy Roche added, “The launch was further enriched by the collaboration it represents between the diocese and cathedral, embodying our shared commitment to honouring older people. It was a joyful step forward in our care for older people across our diocese. We look forward with gratitude and anticipation to the flourishing of this ministry across our parishes, and to the many ways Anna Chaplains and Anna Friends will help ensure that older members of our communities are known, valued and spiritually supported.”
