40 Days of Day Home Mission 31

Sports Chaplaincy

South Serving sport through Baptist Association excellence in chaplaincy - supported by Home Mission

I have been the minister of Ainon The chaplaincy has been well Baptist Church, Bryncoch, Neath received and has increasingly led for 12 years. Seven years ago I was to requests and opportunities to approached by the professional develop similar arrangements at rugby team the to serve other sports clubs by introducing as a volunteer chaplain with their them to other pastorally-gifted church and of the charity, I reduced Academy. This role has involved: church leaders interested in my hours with the church down to »» Pastoral and spiritual care for exploring sports chaplaincy as a part-time role and now give two the Under 16years (U16s ), U18s mission. Over the past number of days a week to sports chapaincy and U20s players, their families, years one issue stood out over and development. coaches and backroom staff. over again - effective development »» Input into the Ospreys of this kind of incarnational To date, sports chaplaincy in Wales Academy’s formal training mission in the sporting world is more developed in rugby than programme where I lead was impossible to do in the one in football, with only a handful on the delivery of subjects day a week that my church was of chaplains currently serving concerning life skills and holistic graciously releasing me for and in in Welsh Football. It is hoped development (the development my spare time. There were, and still that the next 12 months will see of these young men as people are, simply too many opportunities a redressing of this imbalance. and not just as players). presenting themselves for In December 2013 I was invited development. by the Welsh Premier League to address a meeting in Newtown, Additionally, having served as mid Wales, of all the chairmen of one of the sports chaplains at the Paralympic Games in London 2012, this subsequently led on to a growing number of requests from the disabled sporting world in Wales to consider developing sports chaplaincy support to disabled and special-needs sport. The Christian Charity Sports Chaplaincy UK (formerly SCORE) asked me two years ago to formally take on a part-time development role in Wales in order to further this form of Christian mission. And so, with the prayerful support of my

Find out more about how Home Mission is enabling Baptist churches to make Jesus known in their communities, see www.baptist.org.uk/hmstories Make a gift to Home Mission through your Church Treasurer, or online at www.justgiving.com/baptistuniongb Spring 2015 Welsh Premier football clubs on the This has led to two new subject of sports chaplaincy. As a chaplaincies which now provide result of my presentation to that volunteer chaplaincy support to meeting, the league administrators the athletes in their Academy and have now commended chaplaincy High Performance departments. to all their constituent clubs and The Revd Dave Hibbin of Ararat we hope to see a number of new Baptist Church and Heather Lewis appointments in 2015. The BUGB of Highfields Church, both Home Mission grant enables me to give a day a week of their time to make journeys such as the above to support the Wales’s disabled sports Newtown and even further north Other areas identified for priority people, and it is hoped that this in Wales (Wrexham, Colwyn Bay, development in the next year are: model can replicated elsewhere. Caernarfon) to further this type of »» chaplaincy to women’s sports incarnational Christian mission in (at the moment we have only Building on my experience of Wales for the glory of God. one female sports chaplain in serving at the London 2012 Wales). I have been working Paralympics, I served in July 2013 As a result of a number of such to raise awareness of this type as a Chaplain and Interpreter journeys I was able last year to of ministry amongst Welsh at the International Paralympic introduce the Revd Rhun Murphy churches, and have spoken at Committee’s World Athletics to the Directors of Wrexham FC in a number of different forums, Championships in Lyon, France I February of this year and he is now trying to develop this type of was asked to dedicate his time to all set to take up a volunteer sports ministry across denominational providing spiritual, pastoral and chaplaincy role with their Academy boundaries and to foster linguistic support to Team GB. set-up in the town. Further new partnership working. chaplaincies have been brokered at I also formed part of the Swansea Newport RFC, Cardiff RFC, Newport »» a growth in the number of Organising Committee charged Gwent RFC and the Club Christmas carol services with the planning and delivery acadmies at Llanelli and facilitated by club chaplains. of the International Paralympic Cardiff City FC. Christmas 2014 saw 3,500 Committee’s European Athletics people gather for a Carol Championships that took place Service at the , from 17 - 24 August 2014. This Swansea where the Christmas resulted in a team providing a story was read from the Bible by comprehensive sports chaplaincy players and club adminstrators, service to athletes, coaches, and with the chaplains leading their families. Included in the team in prayer and a Christmas were a number of ‘trainee’ sports reflection. This event is now set chaplains - ministers in training / to become an annual one. ordinands who have expressed an »» chaplaincy to the disabled interest in sports chaplaincy and sporting world. The second half whose training institutes agreed of 2013 saw the signing of a for their summer placements to be formal engagement agreement on secondment to the chapaincy between Sports Chaplaincy team at these major athletics UK and Disability Sport Wales championships. (DSW), the lead organisation in Wales for the development of I have been greatly encouraged Rhun Murphy sport for disabled people. by the number of doors that the Lord has opened over the past two Please pray: »» For more Club Christmas carol years, with a growing number of »» For Steve and the growing services in 2015 pastoral and mission opportunities number of sports chaplains »» For the support which chaplains to myself and the other chaplains serving sports clubs in Wales can offer to sports people with that I am encouraging. May his »» Give thanks for the spiritual, disabilities kingdom come in the sporting pastoral and linguistic »» For the ministers in training world of Wales. the UK and of all his support which can be given at who have an interest in sports world. international sporting events chaplaincy, and for opportunities Steve Jones »» For the development of for them to explore this calling Chaplaincy Support Director for chaplaincy to women’s sports through placements Welsh Sport