In the Ridgeway Benefice, Gill Thompson, a retired Maths Teacher, spends her time supporting the spiritual needs of the older generation as the first Anna Chaplain in Oxfordshire.
After caring for her own mother through terminal illness and working for a short time as an Activities Manager for older people, Gill felt drawn to ministry among the older generation. Before being commissioned as an Anna Chaplain in August 2020, Gill had previously undertaken training as a Lay Pastoral Assistant in the Diocese of London and pursued various Lay Ministry training courses in the Diocese of Oxford, as well as studying at Cliff College, Derbyshire.
Since that time, Gill has been working to walk alongside the local older population, hearing and reflecting on their stories, supporting them in clarifying their beliefs and then helping them to explore any questions.
With a population of approximately 2000, there are six villages in the rural Ridgeway Benefice; 300 of whom are elderly residents living in a purpose-built retirement village. Gill has developed relationships with these residents through spending time one-to-one with them, leading Christian festival services, running discussion groups, visiting residents in end-of-life care, holding funerals, and writing a monthly newsletter.
Gill reflects on why there is a need for Anna Chaplains:
“There are now more people over the age of 65 than there are under 18’s in the country, so there is a real need to serve these people, walk alongside them and help them to know that they are loved by God. Anna Chaplains are there for people of all faiths and none.
“In many new secular care homes and retirement villages there is no provision for spiritual care. Some of the residents have been uprooted and moved due to care needs and want to continue to practice their faith in a care facility that may not have the required resources. With more time to contemplate the big questions of life, there are also those residents who seek to make sense of their life. There may be a need for reconciliation with friends or family, a need to feel they are leaving a legacy for future generations, as well as a desire to live life, right up until the end.
“I also have the opportunity to minister to the care staff who have been particularly burdened during the pandemic and have had to be the ‘family’ of many residents when there were restrictions on outside visitors.”
Gill shares about the support of the local churches in the benefice:
“As well as the Retirement village, within the Ridgeway Benefice churches there is a dedicated pastoral visiting team who keep an eye on each of the villages, supporting and caring for people as needs arise. We can then work together to ensure that the local church is there for the older population.
Anna Chaplaincy is a ministry of BRF
The name Anna means ‘Grace’ and the ministry of Anna Chaplaincy is a gracious offering of the church to older people in the community. It is the hope of the Anna Chaplaincy network that no care home will be without a church to care for it and that every parish or benefice will have an Anna Chaplain as part of their ministry team. There are currently just over 200 Chaplains spread across the country.