Items filtered by date: Thursday, 09 July 2020

Revd Canon Paul Morris, principal chaplain in the Diocese of Derby, writes:

Voluntary workplace chaplaincy is a growing movement in Derbyshire, with more than 150 chaplains from many denominations serving in 15 locations and in 15 sectors.  

Here are stories from two social care contexts during the pandemic:

GP surgery

Chaplains have supported staff and patients at a GP surgery in Ilkeston in the Erewash Primary Care Network. 

Soon, there will be chaplains in all 13 Erewash surgeries.

One GP said: "These are very stressful times for everyone, but I am excited about the GP chaplaincy opportunities.

"God is sovereign in all these things.  A retired GP who has been praying for our chaplains every week since they started asked how they and we as a team are doing so I shared feedback from patients.

"It has been really encouraging, my favourite quote is, 'Thanks for asking the chaplain to phone me. I didn’t realise what a heavy burden I was carrying until it had been lifted.'”

Hospital wards

Hospitals in Ashbourne, Clay Cross, Ilkeston and Ripley created a new post of ward volunteer to liaise between patients and relatives, provide pastoral care and support staff.

Chaplains were appointed, and one wrote: "I was apprehensive, but I was given excellent training. 

"The patients cannot have visitors so the opportunity to chat about their family and concerns has been a pleasure.

"I’ve met some extraordinary people, and every day has been different but I always leave the ward inspired by the patients and the hardworking staff.

"I was once explaining to a patient I couldn’t move her as, 'I am only a volunteer,' to which the nurse said, 'Never say that, you are not only a volunteer, you are very important here.'

"I was deeply touched by that comment and am so thankful I agreed to this role."

A daughter of one patient wrote to a ward volunteer: "You lifted Mum’s spirits when we were unable to see her. At times she was so low we wondered whether she would have any reserves to pull through but to know you were there caring and supporting her and liaising with us, was so appreciated by the family.

"For her to hear our messages and see the photos you printed off brought us closer to her as she knew we were there and missing her."

One matron wants ward volunteers to continue in the future because they get on with what is needed, are interactive with patients and have the experience and skills to effectively support patients and their families as well as integrate with ward staff. 

These are stories of the church in action in the community, as our chaplains respond to the invitation to engage in faithful and fruitful ministry. 

The Bishop of Repton is the Rt Revd Malcolm Macnaughton

Bishop Malcolm was installed as the Suffragan Bishop of Repton in a special Evensong at Derby Cathedral on Sunday, 18 April 2021. The installation followed his consecration as bishop at Lambeth Palace on Wednesday, 14 April 2021. 

Malcolm was formerly Chief of Staff to the Archbishop of York and was educated at Queens’ College Cambridge.

He trained for ministry at Ridley Hall and served his title at St Andrew’s Haughton-le-Skerne, in the diocese of Durham, and was ordained Priest in 1982. 

Malcolm is married to Pam, an ordained pioneer minister and a leadership specialist with the Church Pastoral Aid Society.

He was introduced to the Diocese of Derby in November 2020 and said: “I am much looking forward to working with Bishop Libby and colleagues in the Diocese of Derby, and am excited by the task ahead.

"The COVID crisis is tough for everyone, and we need to be focussed on bringing real hope to those most at risk, those living in poverty, and young people who have so much to offer, but whose opportunities for education, development, and employment, are so limited just now.

"It is great to see the Church in Derby and Derbyshire finding new ways, alongside the old, of being church and seeking the common good.

"What a privilege to be called by God to join you and to share the next stage of this journey!”

If you wish to contact the Bishop of Repton's office, the details are:

The Rt Revd Malcolm Macnaughton, Bishop of Repton
39 Hickton Road,
Swanwick,
Alfreton,
DE55 1AF

07933 344746 | malcolm.macnaughton@derby.anglican.org

What is a suffragan bishop and why do we have a Bishop of Repton?

The Role of the Suffragan Bishop is to support and share in the episcopal ministry of the Bishop of Derby, who is the bishop of the Diocese. Episcopal (or “bishop’s”) ministry is about being “shepherds of Christ’s flock and guardians of the faith of the apostles” in the words of the ordination service, which means caring for all God’s people and leading in the task of presenting the faith in the world.

Bishops are to be a focus for the unity of the Church locally, teaching and proclaiming the faith and engaging with the world that the Church is called to serve – being “leaders in mission”, in other words – and encouraging and supporting the ministry of all the baptised, especially ordained and other authorised ministers.

All ministry stems from Christ the Good Shepherd, who invites us to share with him in his work and so the best models of all Christian ministry are shared ones. This is why episcopal ministry is shared by the diocesan bishop with the suffragan bishop who works with him.

Traditionally in the Church of England and other parts of the Christian Church, ministry is rooted in human communities and so all bishops are ordained to be bishop of a specific place. The diocesan bishop is the Bishop of Derby as the largest community in Derbyshire.

In former times, however, bishops often established their base (or “See”) in quite small and out-of-the-way places and until the time of St Chad (who died in 672 AD) the bishop for the whole of the Midlands (then the See of Mercia) was based in Repton.

When – in 1965 – it was decided to appoint a suffragan bishop for the diocese of Derby, he was designated Bishop of Repton, reviving the episcopal connection with this particular community within Derbyshire.

The fact that the suffragan bishop has Repton as his designation, however, does not mean that he has a closer connection with Repton than other places in Derbyshire (and in fact he lives near Matlock!) but it is a reminder that as well as the aspect of bishop’s ministry which is about Cathedrals and big communities, bishops are also about attending to the life of the Church and sharing in the building up of the Kingdom of God in smaller human communities, indeed wherever the people of God gather to worship and to witness.