Chaplaincy is a vital mission strategy Norman Harrison looks at the exciting missional opportunities in the world of chaplaincy.
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s Presbyterians, we are rightly proud of a long and shared history of mission. As a young Christian in Christ Church, Dundonald, I was blessed to benefit from the ministries of Rev Jim Waring, former missionary in Jamaica, and Rev Robin Quinn, former missionary in Malawi. As assistant minister in Dungannon, I was blessed by the example of Max and Alison Watson, and David and Sandra Rodgers who served in Nepal, as well as Rosemary Clements from Clogherney, in my first charge. My wife Janet and I wondered about mission in a foreign field, and when we went to Kenya to develop a congregational partnership project, we fell in love with the people
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Herald March 2025
there and the red earth, yet our call did not come. John Finlay, a former elder in my second charge, High Street, Holywood, was an inspiration. His achievements for Interserve in Nepal are the stuff of legend. When I led the Ards Presbytery Kenya team, building churches and schools, there was still no overseas call, yet mission has always been a core goal for me, both in congregational life and in chaplaincy. I have come to understand that chaplaincy is not just the ‘add-on’ on the side of ministry. Rather, it is, in its own right, a professional mission role.
…chaplaincy is…a professional mission role.
I learned a lot from missionaries abroad: mostly, that the role does not mean repeating the same things ministers do in churches. For some, there is some cross-over, but for most it is healthcare, engineering, skills development, theological education. Mission takes many forms in various situations. Traditionally, chaplaincy was associated with the armed services, prisons and with the NHS/HSCNI. Suitably qualified individuals, usually ministers and deaconesses, have taken up such roles. Today it extends into the arenas of sport, the workplace, business, town centres, street outreach, rural community engagement – simply put, chaplaincy is now operating where
