It’s that time again! Holiday time, all sorts of holidays depending on your community or faith background. Christmas, Sukkot, Diwali, Eid…all celebrations of divinity on the one hand, you could say, and humanity on the other. Families celebrate, gifts are given and, usually, there is a lot of joy.
Does this have anything to do with chaplaincy? Certainly since “holidays”, originally from the Old English for “holy” and “day”, are about the intersection of our life and God with us. I know Christianity best, and the incarnation of God in Jesus Christ is foundational to understanding practically everything in life. If God was bothered, enough to take on our being that says something very positive about human beings. It also says a lot about God’s commitment, if you like, to our race.
It means God cares about people, our welfare, our flourishing, our relationships, our ambitions, our hopes, our dreams. And our stresses, our strains, our pains, our failures, our future. All of these pretty much make up the “atmosphere” of any workplace. As we sometimes say, “All human life is here” and that is where God is too, adding value and significance to us at the very least!
Workplace chaplains represent this understanding of life to those they serve. In their presence, in their words, in their actions human life is valued because God values it. Simply being there to listen can be life changing for a speaker close to emotional collapse. Simply speaking words of encouragement to an overburdened manager can change dark to light. Simply providing a cup of coffee or a doughnut for a weary worker can be more than physical sustenance, giving hope of relief. It all says, “You matter. God cares”.
So, let us celebrate chaplaincy and promote it! To that end, let me put a bit of a challenge to whoever you are, reading this! CWC needs new trustees as some come to the end of their appointment. To keep the support CWC offers going and to maintain the advocacy for chaplaincy that is its heartbeat, we need more trustees. Could that be you? Please think about it.
Contact CWC for more information…and happy holidays!
Rev Canon Paul Hills
Vice-Chair (Cambridgeshire)