Sabbatical Musings 2 – Uni Chaplaincy

One of my personal objectives during my  Sabbatical was to reflect on my impending appointment as Methodist Chaplain to Queen’s University Belfast. I have been involved in various conversations since last September regarding future co-operation with the Anglican chaplaincy and there were a couple meetings in relation to this during these three months. However my sabbatical also gave me the opportunity to meet some chaplains from different universities in England from a number of different denominational backgrounds. I met up with the co-ordinator for Higher Chaplaincy in the Methodist Church in Britain and he put into context for me the kind of circumstances many Chaplains are working in today, in a multicultural and multi-faith environment. I attended a Churches Higher Education Liaison Group (CHELG) day conference in King’s College London with Pete Ward (of ‘Liquid Church’ fame) as the main speaker reflecting on Discipleship in a University context. It was a real privilege to  hear Pete share his wisdom and I really enjoyed meeting the guys working in various settings across England. The issue that I found very challenging about the day centered on whether chaplains were in a position to share the name of Jesus directly with students. Many students are exploring spirituality, it’s high on the agenda, but there seemed to be a fair division of opinion on whether it was right to ‘name’ Jesus  in relation to those spiritual experiences. To name Jesus might be seen as being in some way exclusive. Now, I want to be the kind of person who respects other people and am very willing to respect the fact that they might not share my particular views, and indeed to respect their spirituality… but Jesus called me to follow him, to serve him and to speak of him when ever I can and wherever I am.

I also had the opportunity to meet a couple of guys working as ’student co-ordinator’s’ in large inner city churches. It was very interesting to compare what they were trying to do in terms of gathering students and student discipleship with the approach of some of the chaplains I met. Plenty of food for thought!