God doesn’t lose interest as we age

Last year, Anna Chaplaincy ministry lead Debbie Ducille spoke at ELS about how her organisation supports older people. She tells the Anna Chaplaincy story

Anna Chaplaincy was born in 2010. The first Anna Chaplain was the BBC journalist Debbie Thrower and her role was to develop spiritual care for older people.

This was something close to her heart because she’d seen from her own experience with her parents that within a care setting, unless a chaplain is present, it’s quite difficult for older people to grow faithfully or explore life’s big questions. Debbie realised this was something that could be scaled up to work in a range of contexts, so in 2014 she approached BRF Ministries to see if they could help. As part of BRF Anna Chaplaincy has doubled in size every year and the network now stands at 330 chaplains.

Anna Chaplaincy is ecumenical community-based chaplaincy, which is unusual because most chaplains work in institutions like hospitals, airports or prisons. Every Anna Chaplain is appointed and supported by their local church, so are a gift from the church to their community.

We’re an aging society – there are more people aged 60-plus than under 18. We often employ youth pastors but rarely pastors for older people.

There is a biblical mandate for us to care for people of all ages. God doesn’t lose interest in us when we’re old. While our physical bodies waste away, the spirit can still grow.

This article first appeared in Direction Magazine. For further details, please click here.

Enjoy this article? Don't forget to share