To celebrate the tenth anniversary of Anna Chaplaincy joining the BRF Ministries family, ministry lead Debbie Ducille sets out on a 60-mile sponsored hike from Alton to Abingdon to spread the word. Beginning with a special church service this morning (Sunday 15 September), Debbie is walking from the birthplace of Anna Chaplaincy to the home of BRF Ministries. Her aim is to mark the anniversary, raise awareness about Anna Chaplaincy, meet up with network members and raise vital funds for this growing and much needed ministry.
Anna Chaplaincy was founded by Debbie Thrower in 2010, and there are now over 370 Anna Chaplains across the country, plus hundreds more Anna Friends supporting them. Joan Grenfell has been an Anna Chaplain for five years, and was among the first to be licensed in the Newcastle diocese. She works chiefly in two care homes in Jesmond, and contributes to the online Anna Chaplain training course, which she sees as an important part of her ministry.
The following is the text of a sermon Joan preached at the morning parish communion at St George’s Church, Jesmond, to mark the anniversary and to share something of the ministry with the congregation.
15 September 2024
He had compassion on them
People followed Jesus wherever he went. They wanted to see him, to hear him, to touch the hem of his cloak. On one occasion 5,000 people wanted a piece of him. Five thousand – that’s a lot of people! But when Jesus saw the crowd, he did not see a number, he saw people in need ‘and he had compassion on them, because they were… like sheep without a shepherd’ (Matthew 9:36).
That reaction of Jesus where he looks beyond the number to the need embodied by that number, speaks to me of the ministry of an Anna Chaplain. It is a reaction of compassion and caring.
Anna Chaplains are named after the widow Anna, who appears with Simeon, in Luke’s gospel (Luke 2:25–38). Both are good models of faithful older people. Anna Chaplains are there to meet the needs of faithful, older people; for people of strong, little or no faith at all and to offer them spiritual care. The Anna Chaplaincy ministry was pioneered 14 years ago by Debbie Thrower. A former radio and television presenter, Debbie was also a licensed lay reader. Her vision took root when her mother, a lifelong and faithful member of the church, took up residence in her local care home.
That reaction of Jesus speaks to me of the ministry of an Anna Chaplain. It is a reaction of compassion and caring.
A spirit to be nurtured
As time went on it became clear to Debbie and her mother that there was no awareness of the spiritual needs of residents, and therefore nothing was offered. Debbie’s vision was that those needs should be recognised. We are all spiritual beings. There is a spirit inside each of us which makes us who we are, which speaks to the essence of who we are. Some will understand this spirit in religious terms, but not everyone will. So Anna Chaplains offer spiritual support to people of strong, little or no faith, recognising that there is a spirit inside each person, regardless of faith, which needs to be nurtured and fed so that what defines them as unique individuals is never lost.
Lisa Genova’s novel Still Alice (made into a film starring Julianne Moore) is an account of a college lecturer’s journey into Alzheimer’s. Reflecting on her condition, Alice asks herself, ‘Is my spirit immune to the ravages of Alzheimer’s?’
Alice answers her own question, ‘I believe it is.’ And so do I. I believe that no matter how Alzheimer’s ravages our brains and our ability to function as we always have done, our spirit is alive and well within us. So we remain, still, the person we have always been.
Debbie Thrower’s vision was that the spiritual needs of residents should be recognised.
A ministry of presence
The role of the Anna Chaplain, then, is to help to keep that spirit burning brightly by feeding it. The main way we do this is by offering a ‘ministry of presence’ – a ministry of being alongside and a ministry of compassion and care.
I am involved in two care homes in Jesmond, which I visit each week. I take the Sacrament to those who wish to receive it, but I am chiefly there to sit with and listen to residents; to simply be there for them. Some residents are affected by Alzheimer’s or other forms of dementia, but not all of them. I may be able to have a conversation, listen to stories about family or friends or about their early working life. And I listen. I listen a lot!
It can be difficult, straining to hear words people struggle to say in a thin breathless voice, or to make sense of the confusion of thoughts being shared.
But my listening is important, because by listening I am saying to the person beside me: ‘You matter. What you have to say matters.’ I hope my listening restores a sense of worth and dignity they enjoyed in earlier life but may have lost as they’ve become more frail and dependent. When conversation is not possible, I sit beside them, perhaps holding a hand while being alert and responsive to any tiny connection I sense coming from them.
By listening I am saying to the person beside me: ‘You matter. What you have to say matters.’
Staying connected
As I look around me in the care homes, I am looking at people who have not always been challenged by age or Alzheimer’s. I am looking at people who have raised families, who have had careers, who have been role models for others. I see people who deserve the time that I can give them.
I’ve been touched by two descriptions of what it can be like to live with Alzheimer’s. One person said, ‘I feel as if I am on a long road, getting further and further away from myself.’ And another, ‘I struggle every day to stay connected to who I once was.’
Helping to meet the spiritual needs of older people can mean helping them to stay connected to who they once knew themselves to be. One of the most frequent responses I have from the people I sit with is ‘Thank you for talking to me.’
This then is what Anna Chaplaincy is all about: presence, compassion and caring. But there are not yet enough Anna Chaplains. It has been the vision of Anna Chaplaincy since the beginning to have at least one Anna Chaplain in every small and medium-sized town in the country. There are now 370, with hundreds more Anna Friends supporting them. We hope that a few more may join us as a result of Debbie’s anniversary walk!
Some words of Jesus speak into my hope. He said to his disciples: ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field’ (Matthew 9:37).
