Tracing The Connections
Chaplaincy, The Church of England
and the
Common Good
March 1st 2014
Research Aim
To investigate Church of England involvement in
chaplaincy across a variety of contexts … in order
to provide:
• A coherent account of the extent and nature of
the work
• A narrative of the work that can represent
chaplaincy in church and non-church contexts
• Recommendations for how chaplaincy can be
supported & developed as part of the Church of
England’s strategy for mission & ministry.
Research Objectives
• To map the Church of England’s current
involvement in chaplaincy
• To conduct qualitative case studies
• To test the coherence of the findings & develop
them through further consultation with chaplains
& others
• To produce a report of the findings including
recommendations for future strategy
The Case Studies
Hospital: large public sector chaplaincy in an urban context
over two geographical settings
Industry: workplace chaplaincy set in multiple geographical
locations in an urban context
Commercial
companies
Sector:
urban
chaplaincy
including
large
Police: public sector chaplaincy covering stations across a
rural county
University:
suburban
Cathedrals
chaplaincy on one campus
Group
university
Models of Chaplaincy
1. Full-time ordained chaplain paid by host institution or
organization e.g. lead hospital or university chaplain
2. Full-time ordained chaplain paid by Church of England
(or office holder) primarily to practice and co-ordinate
chaplaincy e.g. leader of industrial chaplaincy
organization for the diocese or lead commercial and
police chaplains
3. Ordained part-time chaplains who are parish priests
and give part of their time to the work as a way of
engaging with the community
Models of Chaplaincy
4. Part-time lay chaplain, paid by the host organization e.g.
the LLM who works part-time in the hospital as a
chaplain and volunteers a few hours a week in a
workplace chaplaincy
5. Volunteer ordained chaplain e.g. a retired fire service
chaplain
6. Volunteer lay chaplains or chaplaincy volunteers who
could be licensed lay ministers or lay members of
congregations e.g. found in the police, industry and retail
contexts
Some Implications of the Diversity of Models
• Difficult to find accurate and reliable quantitative data
• Chaplaincy is almost invisible within central ministerial
and missional discourses of the Church of England
• Lack of conceptual clarity about what chaplaincy is.
• Reluctance to resource chaplaincy
Four Characteristics of Chaplaincy
(Victoria Slater)
1. A distinctive ministry undertaken in the public square
by representative and authorised ministers (lay &
ordained), embedded characteristically in social rather
than church structures and focussing the vocation of the
church to serve the mission of God in the world
2. Roles are publicly recognized and validated by both the
host organization/network and the faith community
Chaplaincy Characteristics
(Victoria Slater)
3. Chaplains are appropriately accountable to both the
host organization/network as well as to their faith
community and contribute both to the mission of the
context in which they work as well as to that of the
church
4. Chaplains work in a professional way with specific
knowledge, skills and training relevant to their work
context