10 things you didn't know about school chaplaincy
In a recent Limitless podcast Ruth Motion and Mike Haslam shared the lowdown on what life is like for school chaplains. Here’s what we learned...
1. Schools chaplaincy isn’t just about kids
Ruth
You’re there to support the whole school, so I regularly have teachers, support staff, cleaners and headteachers dropping in. I helped a member of staff whose son had been born premature and had come through all sorts of problems. She wanted to give thanks for him so I wrote a service for them as a family and went to their village hall to lead it. That’s amazing because this lady is not a Christian but I was her Christian contact.
2. Good chaplains spot Zacchaeuses
Mike
One of our chaplains in Somerset said on the first day in school she noticed everybody rushing and decided she was going to walk slowly and really notice people. Think about Jesus and Zacchaeus: if Jesus hadn’t been walking slowly through the crowds how would he have noticed Zacchaeus, the little man up the sycamore tree?
3. Chaplains are experts at tough questions
Ruth
If anybody wants to ask questions about my faith I always answer them. I’ve had questions from sixth formers about where the Church of England is going with same-sex marriage. Sometimes it’s not easy, but you have to be prepared to answer these questions.
4. Chaplains model Jesus in corridors
Mike
Chaplaincy is about being distinctive and inclusive. That’s what I see Jesus doing as he journeys around Galilee and down towards Jerusalem. He is distinctive and clear about who he is. He doesn’t say no to people, he welcomes them and spends time with them. As a chaplain I’m never there to impose my faith. I’m ready to engage in conversation and create safe spaces for people to explore questions of faith and life. I find that when people do that on their own terms, on their own turf, in their own time, they’re ready to listen, explore and find answers.
5. Many kids are open to chaplains
Ruth
This year I decided to do something different for Ash Wednesday. We called it “Ashes to Go”. With the kids who came, we did an ash cross on their forehead or the back of their hand. They knew it was a chance to say sorry, receive forgiveness and start again. We had more than 80 kids come and said to each individually by name, “Acknowledge you’ve done wrong, accept God’s forgiveness and know that God loves you”.
6. A chaplain’s hoodie has power
Mike
When people go from being church-based youth workers or working with charities like Youth for Christ to being a chaplain their impact skyrockets. That’s because they’re no longer visitors. They have a hoodie with the school name, their name and “Chaplain” on it and because they’re part of the team the staff trust them and forward students to them. The students trust them more too.
7. Chaplains don’t just talk about Jesus
Mike
When you start working with a school there can be misconceptions to work out, including that all the students are suddenly going to be locked up in church.
Ruth
There’s an expectation when a school first has a chaplain that all you’re going to do is talk about Jesus. Of course I do that, but in a very subtle way. Staff at my school were quite surprised I wasn’t ramming religion down their throats!
8. Chaplains have the gift of time
Ruth
I was a teacher for 30 years and one of the biggest differences when I became a chaplain was that when a student said, “Ruth, have you got time?” and the answer was “Yes!” It was never, “I’ve got a free lesson in three days’ time.” I have the ability and space to give time to people.
9. Schools chaplaincy is on the up
Mike
Chaplaincy is growing. That’s because amazing champions like Ruth gain trust from students and school leaders and the impact they have continues to rise. We’ve got FE colleges, primary schools, community schools, church schools, all saying, “Can we have chaplaincy?”
10. You can sense when the chaplain’s around
Mike
In one secondary school the head, who wasn’t a Christian, said to me there was a tangible presence of peace when the chaplain was around and that he’d brought benefits to the school that they hadn’t expected. He said, “We know young people don’t go to church as much anymore but we’re really glad that the church wants to come in and meet them.”
Stories about our time in chaplaincy
Ruth
I had a girl come to talk to me. Her mum asked if she could come because she was in a really bad place. She was self-harming, close to suicide.
We met once a week for nearly two years and she’s gone from being an absolute wreck to being head girl, applying for university.
I’m not saying I’m the only one who helped – I referred her on to get more support from Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services – but she sent me an email saying, “I just want to let you know that I realised the other day I’d had three months without any suicidal thoughts. I’m so proud of myself but I also wanted to thank you for telling me that it would and could be better and always listening and cheering me up and making me realise there was more to life than there was at that particular time.”
I haven’t turned her into a Christian, but her life has been better because I was there to walk with her at that time.
Mike
I met a lad – a refugee from Syria – when he was in Year 6. He told me when he came to this country in Year 4 he was angry and the chaplain helped. He was a Muslim and the chaplain explored with him the common roots of fasting in Islam and Christianity and what both religions believed about it. He told me later, “I’m a Muslim but the chaplain does interesting stuff about Jesus.” That’s one amazing example of the difference a chaplain can make to a lad who is seriously scarred and has had their life turned upside down.
This article first appeared in Direction Magazine. For further details please click here.
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