group, DVD showings of Christianbased films and ‘chill and chat’ sessions. I am often seen in the kitchen cooking bacon butties for the guys, which gives me an ideal setting to catch up with them. No two days are the same; we simply prioritise and adapt to what is going on. The one thing that I personally struggle with as a chaplain is having to evict a resident. There is just something about it that goes against the grain for me. But we do have a duty of care, not only to other residents but also to the staff. In a 39-bed men’s Lifehouse, that duty of care is paramount in ensuring everyone’s wellbeing. I was interested to learn that the word ‘chaplain’ comes from the Old French word chapelain, which in turn comes from the Latin word cappellanus. That word has its origins in the story of the fourth-century St Martin of Tours, who was said to have shown compassion to a beggar by cutting his cloak (cappella) in half with his military sword so he could clothe the beggar with it. At first a cappellanus was a priest who guarded St Martin’s cloak when it accompanied the army to war; then it became a name given to all priests who said mass in the camps. For me, the word that stands out in the above paragraph is ‘compassion’. It sums up my ministry as a lay chaplain within my particular setting. I need to have and to show compassion to be able to serve in the role I have. In the conclusion of his book, A Theology Of Ministry, John Coleman says: ‘In our own time, when many note a shortage of clergy, we are seeing a
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From the avid believer to the selfprofessed atheist, I pray that I have been what they have needed me to be in their darkest hour veritable explosion of specialisedmostly-lay-ministries, and although ministry flows from and is certified by the Church, it is destined to serve the entirety of humanity.’ Today’s Salvation Army is relying more and more on people like me – non-officer chaplains or lay chaplains. I believe that whether we are officers or not, we are called by God to shape our ministry to others in and around our life experiences, to identify with those whom we are sent to serve in our work settings. The biblical foundation for this – and the foundation of my ministry here
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in Ipswich – is the story of the sheep and the goats in Matthew 25, where the King says: ‘Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me’ (v40). Thomas O’Meara says that ministry means ‘doing something… for the advent and presence of the Kingdom of God… on behalf of a Christian community’. I have often said to those around me that my ministry is a ‘presence’ ministry and also a ministry of service to the people of God and to human need. This is how I live out my role on a daily basis.
Salvationist 16 March 2019
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