The attentive of you will notice that the photo of the Chair has changed, Revd Canon Adrian Gatrill has stepped down from being the Chair of Police Chaplaincy UK and the Board have appointed Rev'd Dom Jones as the new Chair.
Dom says "I want to pay tribute to Adrian for his time in the Chair and thank him for all that he has done. I am delighted to be the new Chair and look forward to working with the board of Police Chaplaincy UK on our vision of 'bringing chaplaincy to the heart of policing'. I am grateful that Adrian will remain a board member and that we can benefit from his many years of wisdom and experience of Police Chaplaincy.
I am passionate about Police Chaplaincy and am currently the Lead Chaplain in Hampshire Constabulary, but I am also very passionate about Police Chaplaincy UK. I want to see PCUK develop to be the professional body that we need, I want PCUK to be the OneStop shop for chaplains who need training and resources and the place where police forces look for advice on all things chaplaincy. I will work tirelessly during my remaining time as an elected board member and am excited about the adventure ahead.
Please hold me in your thoughts and prayers and if you have any ideas of things, you'd like to see from Police Chaplaincy UK please This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Yours
Dom
The retired chaplain who has dedicated the last 30 years to supporting police officers
After spending three years studying to be a minister at Bible College, John Butcher never thought life would lead him into chaplaincy with the Force. Here we are, 30 years after he first started working with the police, John, now retired, looks back at his captivating career, which saw him successfully grow the West Midlands chaplaincy team from just four to more than 150 volunteers across the region.
“Well, my story started when I was in Hackney,” 66-year-old John began.
“I’d trained as a minister and moved down to London, with Hackney being my first church. The community had gang-related problems that included drug crime and multicultural issues. It was in the period of the Gulf War, and the police wanted there to be calmness in the area, so they got in touch with me and other people of different faiths, in hope that we would begin to work together to tackle some of the problems.”
Having been contacted by the Met Police, John started venturing out with officers on a couple of shifts. However, never did he imagine that a ‘little visit out with the police’ would lead to him volunteering and working with the police service for the next three decades. Continue Reading...
A personal reflection by Graham Choldcroft, Assistant Lead Chaplain, Thames Valley Police
The late John Hopkins, playwright and screen writer of over 90 episodes of Z Cars, once posed the question 'Why be a policeman?'
'They confront the full range of darkness.'' he wrote. 'Their life is a constant confrontation with horror. We ask from them a commitment to our safety and livelihood, and we say, "you will do that for us, it all comes with the territory of being a policeman," but we don't pay them the respect of understanding what a cost it is to them, how much in terms of ordinary life they sacrifice to be our guardians.'
Adrian Gatrill was elected as the new Chair of Police Chaplaincy UK in August 2021, read his welcome to those visiting our website and his vison for Police Chaplaincy here
Chaplains Volunteer over 400hrs at G7 Summit
Devon and Cornwall police hosted the G7 Summit in June 2021. Over 6,500 police officers and staff were involved in this massive undertaking. Being in a pandemic made the event more complex. Recognising we would be hosting those on mutual aid assisting from other forces, the welfare of all staff was paramount. Devon & Cornwall’s police support volunteer chaplaincy team were asked if they could help and 17 chaplains agreed to volunteer. Read the full article here
How to make the most of hybrid-flexible working: Nothing new here.
Flexible working is not new. The pandemic has just accelerated something that has been happening for decades. Even 15 years ago at HP, I was leading a remote team spread across the face of the globe, some of whom were working at home, at least occasionally. Sure, we didn’t have the video-conferencing technology we have today, but we were able to work well while separated.
Today, we have this kind of working named as ‘Hybrid’ as well as flexible. What’s the difference? Simply put, hybrid is an arrangement of in-office and out-office working that is defined by the organisation, while flexible means workers defining their own working arrangements. Not really that different, as you’ll see.
Now, more than ever, it’s more about having and using the right skills or tools. They may be rusty, or not even in your toolbox yet.
Jonathan Rees delivers training, strategic facilitation, keynote talks and 1:1 coaching, building on experience from corporate life including 14 years at Hewlett Packard leading a virtual team spread across the globe you can read his full article here
View from the National Chaplain
The National Chaplains report covers a round up of all the work undertaken in the last few months from the new UK Police Memorial to attendances at many conferences and also a request for your resources. Read the full report here
Thames Valley Police Open Memorial Garden
A new Memorial garden was dedicated in Thames Valley Police on 18 September in time for National Police Memorial Day. The opening ceremony was delayed by a year due to the pandemic . A beautiful late summer's day crowned the perfect setting at the central training school at Sulhamstead .The marquee was needed for shade rather than rain! God be praised!
Conference 2022 Bearing grief, sorrows and joys through a kaleidoscope of self-care to soul care: (The strengths of chaplaincy in a diverse, agile and inclusive police service.) SAVE THE DATE Monday 20th June 2022 – Wednesday 23rd June 2022 The Hayes Conference Centre, Hayes Ln, Swanwick, Alfreton DE55 1AU
National Police Memorial Day [NPMD]
NPMD place at Lincoln Cathedral on Sunday 26th September and was attended by around 350 people, numbers were restricted due to COVID measures. Read about how the event went here
Chaplaincy (MA, University Certificate, PGDip, PGCert)
The University Certificate, worth 40 Level 7 credits, recognises the importance and complexity of the chaplaincy role and further professionalises it. Interested? Find out more