Chaplaincy
The Diocese of Manchester is committed to providing chaplaincy support for students and staff engaged in Further and Higher Education.
Further Education
The further education sector is growing rapidly within the UK today. There are currently 410 further education colleges in the UK and about half of these have some chaplaincy provision. FE chaplains have a key role to play in this work.
The DfES and the Learning and Skills Council are strongly supporting this work and a Handbook on FE chaplaincy is to be produced next year with joint funding. NEAFE (the National Ecumenical Agency in FE) is the organisation which has been working for 25 years in the sector, and has an excellent web site (www.neafe.org) which should be accessed by all who wish to know more of the churches' work in this important sector.
Chaplaincy in Further Education is a growing ministry, usually in the form of ecumenical, and increasingly, multi-faith teams. But, as this report of a questionnaire demonstrates, it is far from established as 'normal' provision, and there is much for the church to do to promote involvement in this important work, meeting the needs of young people 16-19 and many adults.
Higher Education
There are three chaplains in our universities of Bolton, Manchester and Salford. The student population of these institutions is currently about 100,000. There are also about 20,000 staff members working in hundreds of departments and halls of residence. We are helped enormously in our work by colleagues from different Christian denominations, honorary Anglican chaplains and a team of advisers from the other great faiths of the world.
The chaplaincies value diversity and promote respect for different beliefs. They are available to all, both students and staff, regardless of race, belief, religion, gender, disability, marital status, social class, age or sexual preference. The chaplains are there to ensure an Anglican Christian presence across the campuses. Their brief is to:
- be independent of the institutions;
- take people’s beliefs seriously, whatever they are and help people on their spiritual journey;
- be a source of confidential support and offer a ‘safe space’ to talk;
- lead Christian worship;
- organise opportunities for learning and sharing about the Christian faith;
- help build community on the campus;
- encourage vocations to Christian ministry;
- refer people to more specialised support when appropriate.
Chaplains support student faith groups like the Student Christian Movement (www.movement.org.uk) and the Christian Union (www.uccf.org.uk) and try to contribute in creative ways to enriching students’ time at university through programmes and activities.
Chaplains also endeavour to promote opportunities for interfaith dialogue and build community cohesion on the campuses. This is an enormously important facet of their work and one that complements the nature and role of the universities as places where knowledge and understanding are explored for the betterment of humanity.
Since the task of chaplaincy to such large numbers of people is so great, chaplains need the support of local churches to ensure students have access to pastoral support and Christian worship. Whether students live in halls of residence or in private accommodation in the local community, local churches have a vital role to play.
Contact us:
If your church wants to know how to reach out to the nearby student population, please don’t hesitate to contact your local chaplain. We can’t do this work alone!
Bolton University: www.bolton.ac.uk/chaplaincy The Revd Phil Edwards
The Manchester Universities: www.stpeters.org.uk The Revd Dr Terry Biddington
Salford University: www.isite.salford.ac.uk/welfare/chaplaincy.php or www.universitychaplaincy.co.uk The Revd Duncan Myers.
