You can watch this reflection here.
In this month’s clip, Rev. Mike Haslam considers a Chaplain’s journey and the interruptions that play a role in that.
Two days ago I was twenty miles west of here and could see this hill clearly in the June sunshine. Today as you can see it’s hard to see a mile ahead, let alone twenty. There are times when the way ahead, the next steps, the way ahead, the way forward is clear, and times when it’s lost in the mist. Our schools and colleges need to be concerned with Key Performance Indicators and Strategic Plans, and as chaplains we have a role in enabling our school and colleges to realise them. As people of faith we also hear the words of scripture, God saying to us ‘I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper, not to harm, to give you hope and a future.’ Yet, going back to that Chaplaincy Quiet Day, 20 miles west of here, we were reflecting on the importance of interruptions. We were reminded that Jesus came to live with us and he headed towards Jerusalem. For Jesus, everything else was interruptions. The grace and presence of God is in the interruptions.
As chaplains, where do we hope and pray that we might be this time next year? What is our vision? Do we have a strategy to get there, within the larger strategy of our school or college or our church? What are the first steps that might help us to realise that way ahead? What is the role of the interruption within it; the student who comes to knock on our door and seek help; the person who we encounter, lost and alone in the corridor; the question that arises after so many years of praying about faith, ‘what is it?’?
As we approach the end of the academic year, I want to say, from all of us at CCE, ‘Thank you so very much for all that you have done in so many ways as chaplains in our schools and colleges. You have transformed lives this year.’ And I want to ask you what you believe the way ahead is for you and your school or college and your chaplaincy? What are the next few steps to help you realise that way ahead? I hope that some of them might be richly deserved rest over the summer. Finally, what is the role of the interruption within that way ahead?
Once again from me and all of us at CCE ‘thank you’ and I hope and pray that you have a wonderful and peaceful and blessed summer holiday when it comes.
You can watch this reflection here.
