Parish Profile Heathrow Chaplains - Making every journey better
Westminster Record July 2012
By Lucy Jenkinson Born and raised in West London, Fr Jimmy Garvey attended Campion House Seminary before leaving to work for the church elsewhere in the world. He returned from St Lucia to Allen Hall and was ordained in 1991 in his home parish of Acton. He never imagined that he would be working at, or have full security clearance for, the airport under whose flight path he had grown up. “And then there was that time you were arrested...!” Melvyn the Salvation Army chaplain chortled in his broad Yorkshire accent, raising his eyebrows at Fr Jimmy who sighed and nodded. “Before Jimmy had a full security pass,” Melvyn continued, “We were walking around one day and he stopped to give someone directions without me noticing, so I carried on walking, and then a security guard spotted Jimmy didn’t have the right pass to be where he was and said he would have to arrest him! When I got back to my office I got a sheepish phone call from him asking me to collect him from airport security!”
Laughing together Melvyn obviously found that particular episode funnier than Fr Jimmy, who still looks bemused by the whole experience, but the airport chaplains laugh together about it, as with most stories they tell me, and there is no hint of malice in Melvyn’s teasing of his Catholic colleague. The pair have been working together for nearly three years, Melvyn having arrived at Heathrow with his wife Betty a year before Fr Jimmy. In that time they have seen some significant changes to the layout of Heathrow Airport and successfully petitioned for more and better prayer rooms. “The prayer rooms were after-thoughts here,” Melvyn explains, “most weren’t fit for purpose and definitely not
Altar in St George’s Chapel
places you would actually want to spend time praying.” Currently, Fr Jimmy and Melvyn, as Chaplain Coordinators for Heathrow, are working hard to secure an adequate space in Terminal 5 for a prayer room. Most of the prayer rooms are split into two sections, with one area specially designated for Muslims to pray. Washing facilities for Muslims to prepare themselves to pray separate their section for worship from another area with informal seating and a small altar for Christian services. Getting a cross put on the altar was no small matter, as BAA are infamously antireligion in public spaces, but the chaplains persevered and eventually won their case. The prayer rooms have taken on extra significance in recent years as Heathrow Airport has been developed and the chapel is no longer in the centre of the site as it used to be. Mass continues to be said in St George’s chapel on weekdays and Sundays by Fr Jimmy. The chapel itself illustrates the early attempts at ecumenism that remain a strong feature of prayer spaces at the airport today. Built to replicate an early Roman basilica, the underground chapel has three different areas inside, originally intended for use by Catholics, Anglicans and the Free Churches. Before other prayer rooms were installed the Muslim community at the airport used the central space to pray as well. In the midst of the busiest airport in the world, the chapel is a very peaceful place, providing an area for quiet contemplation and to celebrate a faith that unites people from all continents who pass through the airport on a daily basis. Melvyn and Fr Jimmy are Chaplain coordinators at Heathrow, working with an Anglican chaplain Rev John Mackerness as well as chaplains from other faiths. As Chaplain co-ordinators they meet with others in the same role from airports across the UK and Ireland
to share ideas and experiences and act as a support network. The chaplains take it in turn to write a chaplain’s column for the monthly Heathrow newspaper ‘Skyport’. This is proof of how integral their role is to the airport and how well liked they are by the rest of Heathrow’s staff.
Salvation Army chaplain Melvyn and Catholic chaplain Fr Jimmy
Community issues This role has been quite a change for Fr Jimmy. Having been in 5 parishes over the past 21 years he has seen his share of community issues, both good and bad. He is looking forward to returning to a parish one day but will undoubtedly miss Heathrow for its unpredictable and unusual challenges. One of the most unique things about ministering at an airport, Melvyn and Fr Jimmy tell me, is being called out when there has been a death on board an incoming flight. This happens far more often than you may expect, especially on long haul flights. Fr Jimmy and Melvyn are now called as a matter of course when this occurs, along with medical staff and the police. Even if those travelling with the deceased have not requested a chaplain, Fr Jimmy and Melvyn counsel other passengers and the cabin crew. They may also be the ones to inform anyone waiting at the arrivals area for the person who has passed away. Fr Jimmy and Melvyn say they aim to fulfil Heathrow’s slogan of ‘Making every journey better’, and they really do.
Fr Jimmy (far right) with colleagues at opening of new Terminal 5 prayer room
Services at Heathrow: Sunday Mass in St George’s Chapel 12.30pm (English). Sunday Mass in Terminal 5, landside, Zone A at 7.30am and in Terminal 4 landside Zone G at 9.30am. Holy days of Obligation: as for Sundays. Weekdays: Mass 12.30pm (daily); Tuesday 7pm
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Fr Jimmy (far right) with colleagues at opening of new Terminal 5 prayer room