A generous gift funded a part-time Anna Chaplain in the Parish of Littleton, helping the church offer support through cafés, drop-ins, care home visits and home visits. This generosity now supports people with mental health, grief and faith, while strengthening care and connection across the whole community.
In 2019, a long-time resident of the parish died at the age of 94. She was not a member of the regular congregation, but had benefited from support from the church, particularly following the death of her husband. This took the form of help with shopping and other tasks, along with visits from the Rector and Parish Visitors, even after she moved into a care home outside the local area.
Following her death, the PCC were told that she had left a substantial bequest to the church, with no conditions on how it was to be spent. While there was discussion of spending the money on new AV equipment and technology for the church building, this didn’t sit quite right, given that her experience of ‘Church’ had not come from being in the church building, but from receiving pastoral care and support.
After much prayerful deliberation, the decision was taken to use the money to fund a part-time Anna Chaplain in the parish for three years, enabling Littleton Parish to extend this care and support to others in similar situations. More often than not, Anna Chaplains are employed on a voluntary basis, but the parish felt this was such a vital ministry, and so fitting to the donor’s own experience, that they should recognise its value by offering a paid position.
Today, Littleton Parish’s Anna Chaplain, Kate, is doing tremendous work within the parish! She runs a quarterly Community Café and monthly drop-in sessions, ministers regularly to the residents and staff of local care homes, helps to supervise the parish’s monthly lunch club, and visits a number of local residents in their homes. In doing this work, she supports people who struggle with their mental health, those with fractured relationships, declining physical health, and grief, as well as those looking to explore faith. In addition, she is a point of contact and source of advice on accessibility and ageing for the wider benefice.
It is wonderful to see the benefit that so many are receiving as a result of one lady’s generosity, and the faith of the church to look beyond the walls of the building, using that generosity to fund this new and exciting ministry!
