3 minute read
Feature
Sowing seeds of love
Captain Andrew Jarrold
Continuing a series on Salvation Army chaplaincy in diverse settings, Melita Day-Lewis finds out how one officer provides support to farmers
THE agriculture industry produces half of the food we eat, employs almost half a million people and is a key part of the food and drink sector, which contributes more than £120bn to the UK economy. However, the farming industry is not immune to crises and economic pressures.
In recent years, farmers who previously relied on European workers in harvest seasons have struggled to attract British employees to their workforce. Climate change, with an increase in extreme weather, has affected crop yields, and the Covid-19 pandemic has significantly impacted the food industry’s supply and demand. The combined force of these factors and consequent financial losses have driven many people in the agricultural industry out of business.
Rural chaplains are therefore vital, as farmers and those living and working in agrarian communities can experience depression, loneliness, anxiety or suicidal thoughts.
Captain Andrew Jarrold, corps officer at Ipswich Citadel, became Anglia Division’s rural chaplain as part of his appointment to Norton Corps in 2016. He trained in rural ministry through the Arthur Rank Centre, an ecumenical charity that resources, trains and advocates for rural Christians, churches and the communities they serve.
Captain Andrew describes his role as getting alongside people, talking to them and providing a listening ear: ‘Loneliness is prevalent in the rural situation and suicides among farmers are particularly high because of the pressures. They sit on a tractor going up and down a field and it gives them time to think, and things begin to play on their mind.’
One of the challenges is that many farmers find it difficult to open up and discuss their problems. Andrew is a helpline volunteer with the Farming Community Network, a charity that provides practical and pastoral support to farmers and their families.
‘I took a call on the helpline recently from a family member about a farmer who wouldn’t talk about issues affecting him or the relationships on the farm,’ he says. ‘For whatever reason, they don’t always want to talk about things. And, of course, many farmers do have the means on site to harm themselves. It’s tragic.’
Andrew typically meets farmers at agricultural shows and has contacts through a fellow agricultural chaplain who works for Lightwave, an Anglican mission that reaches out to farming and rural communities.
He is also part of a chaplaincy team at the rural campus of Suffolk New College in Otley. One day a week he walks around the site speaking with students and lecturers.
‘I’m one of a team of three,’ he explains. ‘We have “chaplaincy” in big letters printed on our sweatshirts or hoodies, so everybody knows who we are. I make myself visible in the canteen in the morning, with my bacon roll and cup of coffee, and again at lunchtime. Then I stick my head in at different courses, such as equine, small animals and sheep studies, or at bricklaying and carpentry workshops.’
Andrew finds that talking to people is the most rewarding aspect of being a chaplain.
‘It is about meeting people and providing a listening ear,’ he says. ‘We don’t have all the answers, we can only chat to people and be Jesus to them as much as we can.’
‘It’s a highlight when somebody comes to you and feels comfortable to talk quite deeply about issues when they’ve only met you a few times,’ he adds.
Andrew affirms the importance and value of his role and feels that there should be more rural chaplains available. ‘Running my own corps does limit me,’ he admits. ‘I do what I can, but I think a rural chaplain is a full-time role.’
The most difficult thing, he says, is knowing how to help people facing serious issues, when it is hard to know what to say: ‘Sometimes you don’t have to say anything, you just need to listen. Sometimes it’s helping people find their own way through.’
