Chaplaincy in focus • Helen Lewis

Chaplaincy in focus

On track to be a chaplain • Helen Lewis

Recently Helen Lewis joined Railway Mission as the Railway and British Transport Police Chaplain for South and Mid-Wales.

Recalling how she came to faith in Christ at the age of 14, Helen said, “I would love to say that since then my Christian walk has been one of continuous growth, but sadly, I backslid during my late teens…” but God remained faithful and while at university, Helen recommitted her life to serving God. In 2004, together with her husband, Matt, Helen began to work in schools across Wales with the Christian Council for Schools in Wales (CCSW), sharing the Gospel with children and young people from nursery age to sixth form. Although CCSW has closed and the work is now run by Scripture Union, initially Helen continued in a different role with Scripture Union, working as a support worker for the Wales team. About four years ago, after suffering a back injury that left her unable to continue working with Scripture Union, Helen was prayerfully waiting on the Lord’s direction; for many years she had suffered from severe post-natal

I knew that my experiences with poor mental health could be of benefit in understanding the issues that others might be struggling with.

depression, and the Lord made it very clear that these struggles would not be wasted. Helen was then approached by Sports Chaplaincy UK, about becoming a volunteer chaplain with Welsh Netball. Helen says, “I knew that my experiences with poor mental health could be of benefit in understanding the issues that others might be struggling with.” Since then, Helen has had the privilege of being chaplain to both the Wales senior national squad and the Celtic Dragons Super League teams. “It was as part of this role that I became aware of Mental Health First Aid training,” said Helen. Soon she trained as a Mental Health First Aid instructor and set up a small training business, with a vision to see at least one Mental Health First Aider in every church in Wales, which she has been working towards, by training people across Wales. Now Helen has taken on the role of Railway Mission chaplain for three days a week, allowing her the opportunity to continue training people to be Mental Health First Aiders, while still practising the skills and knowhow she has gained over the years. One of the biggest issues the railway industry faces is that of fatalities on the railway. On average around 270 people, a year lose their lives on the network in a deliberate act, with others being left with lifechanging injuries. Railway Mission chaplains offer support to the rail staff involved in such incidents and also to the members of the public that are affected and referred by the Police to the chaplaincy for post-incident support. Locate your local Railway Mission chaplain at railwaymission.org / find-a-chaplain