One evening in December, having got through security, I sat alongside teenagers and volunteers in the Faith Space at Wetherby Young Offenders Institution delighted to be at their carol service. The invitation had come from its chaplaincy team and was one of the carol services I attended at the invitation of different chaplaincies working across the Ripon Area.
The service at Wetherby felt vulnerable and tough, all at once, while exuding a joy hard to imagine would be possible. With St Aidan’s school, Harrogate, its service was polished, but certainly not a performance - every song and reading came from the heart and the church was filled with a profound spirit and energy of youth; and Leyburn Auction Mart’s was real, earthy and shone with the need we have of each other when working relentlessly against the odds. In each and every place Jesus was there in hearts, minds and the body gathered as one.
As I’ve dipped into various chaplaincies over the years there is something in them all which I admire and am drawn to. Chaplains work at the sharp end of the Kingdom of God. They are one of the best examples of ecumenism and inter-faith work, as differences are laid aside to simply respond compassionately to deep human need. As a Christian, in chaplains, I observe Jesus at work who goes out to the margins and the front line, sees the child in all and responds with God’s healing word and action. And in the work of chaplaincies we see that God’s redemption can be found even in the darkest corner and all things really are being made new.
As we start this New Year, hopefully with fresh eyes and renewed strength, we can give thanks and be inspired by the example chaplaincies give us. Our world is divided and hurting, but what matters is how we respond, together, in love. What matters as Christians is meeting human need with compassion in and way beyond our churches. What matters, is joining in with Jesus to heal the earth, comfort God’s people and make all things new.