 Chaplaincy work
at Gloucestershire Royal Hospital
For many Redcliffe students weekly placements provide the opportunity to do something completely different for one morning or afternoon a week during term time.
‘Professionals in Mission’ student Richard had worked in an engineering environment, so for him, spending time doing chaplaincy work at the local hospital was definitely ‘different’.
"I wanted to do something practical for my placement where I could show Christ’s love in actions and words" he explains. "I desired to grow in faith and dependence on God by doing something inherently challenging for my personality and experience an area of ministry I knew nothing about."
Gloucester Royal Hospital has one part time and two full time chaplains, and around 20 volunteer visitors. Daily services are held in the chapel building, which is also used for prayer by staff, patients and their families.
Although Richard welcomed the opportunity to speak to patients about spiritual matters, he struggled with the fact that others in the ward could be listening in! Sometimes though, this worked to his advantage.
"One patient, in his early thirties, was initially disinterested when I spoke to him, saying: ‘No thanks, I’m a different religion.’ Even so, he clearly listened to my conversation with the man in the bed opposite. At the end of it, he called me over, apologised for his brusqueness, and we spoke for about 30 minutes, much of it directly about faith in Jesus."
Although Richard does not expect this kind of visiting to form part of his future ministry, he is grateful for the opportunity to have his faith stretched, and his relationship with God enhanced.
"I experienced answered prayer simply in my ability to function on the ward and to be a help to some of the patients," he says.
"My faith is all the stronger as a result of the familiar cycle: God’s challenge – feeling inadequate – dependence on God - obedience to God – blessing by his people – assurance of God’s power – renewed testimony to God’s faithfulness."
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