Growing numbers of people do not engage with the institutional church, yet the work of the chaplain seems to be increasingly welcome. An ever wider range of initiatives use the term chaplain to describe those who engage with people where they are and on their terms. How can the integrity and identity of chaplains best be secured? How can dioceses and parishes best receive this fresh expression of grace in the everyday structures of society? Victoria Slater in a sensitive and skillfull way helps the church make theological sense of this important missiological development.
Helen Cameron
Director of Research, Ripon College Cuddesdon
As a significant counter-balance to other research (that explores chaplaincy in relation to its social or organisational context) this book relocates chaplaincy in relation to the life of the contemporary church. Rooted in empirical research about the developing practice of chaplaincy, the book tackles important questions about how chaplaincy can be defined, and understood as central to mission. This is a much needed theological reflection that interprets chaplaincy as in dialogue with people's everyday experience, living out a distinct, representational genre of ministry that contributes to human flourishing and models the church's missional engagement with contemporary society.
The Rev Canon Dr Andrew Todd