In this occasional series we talk with several of our own Chaplains here in Hereford Diocese, offering a window into this fascinating and often moving role. For our Year of Engagement, we have been exploring ways that we as a Church take the message of a loving God out to those communities. For a Chaplain, the community where they work could be a place, such as a single school or care home, or it could be a dispersed community bound by a common thread, such as the local agricultural community – and there is a wide range of these communities in our diocese. As the national church says, “because chaplains are present with the 95% who will not regularly visit a place of worship, many people do encounter them and journey with chaplaincy as they explore questions of life and faith.”
Jane Tate is the new LifeLink Chaplain for The Bishop of Hereford’s Bluecoat School in the Tupsley area of the city. Most recently a Children’s, Youth and Family Worker at Holmer church, she had years of experience connecting church to the local school; in her new role she is working in reverse, finding imaginative ways to connect the popular secondary school with the nearby church of St Paul, two primary schools, the colleges and the community at large. At Holmer, Jane’s work was focussed around the church so it was natural to worship there as well; she has taken that same approach with the BHBS chaplaincy, and is now part of the St Paul’s congregation. “I looked at the role and thought it would work better if was part of that community,” she explains, continuing, “It needs to feel holistic, so that God can show the way to unexpected connections.
“The primary role is in the school, but part of the joy of LifeLink chaplaincy is joining the dots and connecting a lot of lives and groups in the community,” she says. “The chaplaincy role is managed by the Diocese, having originally been created by the congregation at St Paul’s Church in Tupsley, so there was already a connection there, and the congregation still gives generously to support the role. I run the youth worship at St Paul’s on a Sunday called Roots, for age 11 and up, which draws in children from BHBS and other secondary schools in the area. I’m part of the Open the Book team at Hampton Dene Primary School, which takes place at St Paul’s even though it is not a church school, and I lead an afterschool programme for Hampton Dene called Bake through the Bible. I lead assemblies for St Paul’s CofE Primary School in the church. I am also meeting with the chaplain at the Sixth Form College to plan prayer walks around the school and college. I currently go for a wander around the school and it is good to see who God leads me to, perhaps to someone who needs support. I call it ‘prayer in action’.”
At BHBS, Jane is following on from Abbi Scott’s work, while Abbi is on maternity leave, including involvement in collective worship. Here Jane continues her work reaching out to the community, such as a harvest collaboration with Hereford Food Bank. “I write prayers to bring a Christian meaning to the school’s activities,” she says. “I’m based in the Worship Room and run the Christian Union which meets at lunchtime. I create weekly PowerPoints called Vision & Values, which are used for collective worship in form rooms, designed to help our young people think about current events with links to bible verses and prayers. I have started setting up seasonally-themed prayer spaces, including the lunch areas, taking them to where the students are. And following on from the Alpha group which Abbi ran successfully, I’m exploring complementary programmes such as Kintsugi Hope and Wonderful Me, which are trauma-informed, to provide a wellbeing resource as there is still a bit of an epidemic of mental health issues. The school has an excellent pastoral care team, but there can be trauma-related issues for students, such as the death of a grandparent, where they may ask for my support. That’s where I feel it can really help the young person, to have someone to talk things through with. I’m not ordained, so while I have a chaplain’s lanyard, I don’t have a dog collar people can easily spot – I sometimes think I need a sign above my head saying ‘Here to talk!’.”
If you are interested in a chaplaincy role please talk with your local priest or contact the Mission & Ministry team.
ENDS