St Blasius Church has an Anna Chaplain...
1. Introduction.
Bishop Jonathan’s vision is ‘for a church where all can find a life-enhancing encounter with Jesus old and young’. The aspect of this proposal that focuses on older people is the introduction of Anna Chaplaincy in every parish and benefice in our diocese.
The Anna Chaplains are named after the widow, Anna, who appears with Simeon in Luke’s gospel, and recognised the infant Jesus as the Messiah. They offer spiritual care to older people in care homes and in the community whether they have strong, little or no faith.
Over the past four years on the Isle of Wight we have grown from 1 to 12 Anna Chaplains, covering most areas of the Island, the plan is to have one Anna Chaplain supported by Anna Friends in each parish on the Island. The Bay area now has two Anna Chaplains for the Christchurch parish, one Anna Chaplain in the Shanklin United Reform Church and myself, Jane Wilshaw, in St. Blasius parish since January 2024.
Jane is also the Deanery Representative for Anna Chaplains on the Island. We all meet quarterly at Carisbrooke Priory for a supervisory and support meeting. We have managed to enlist Reverend Janet Hallam who provides spiritual support for us all.
2. Current Status
Jane sits alongside the St. Blasius pastoral care team and receives referrals initially from them and the PCC. In addition referrals are made by the Social Prescribers for the Bay Practices who recognise Anna Chaplaincy as a useful role to fill a gap in services for local older people in the Shanklin and Bay area.
3. The Anna Chaplaincy Vision
To see:
· The pastoral needs of older people being given much greater recognition nationally and locally
· Anna Chaplains to be working in communities all over the country
· Anna Chaplaincy to be promoting standards of excellence in the spiritual care of all older people.
Community:
· ‘Increasingly, many older people are feeling that they are beyond the interest and concern of their wider community and even sometimes, their church. There is a growing focus on youth and young families, to the extent that being an older person can be isolating as well as challenging’. (Thrower, D. Anna Chaplaincy website.
Role of Anna Chaplains:
· Receiving referrals from the Social Prescribing Practitioners in the Bay Area.
· Liaising with St. Blasius Pastoral Team to provide spiritual support to identified practitioners.
· Spending time in care homes with individual residents.
· Providing care home church services or ‘singalongs’ for residents and staff as requested by Home Managers.
· Visiting referred older people in their homes and assessing their spiritual requirements or signposting them to relevant services.
· Spending time with family carers in their homes where needed.
· Enabling those living with dementia to remain with the church community.
· Developing and supporting intergenerational activities for children and older adults.
Time Commitment
· Anna Chaplains will typically spend between 10 and 15 hours a week in their role.
· Anna Friends will typically spend between 2 and 4 hours a week in their role.
4. Training.
An Anna Chaplaincy is trained and commissioned by Portsmouth Diocese and holds the Disclosure and Barring procedure DBS. She is licenced by the BRF (Bible Reading Fellowship BRF). Anna Friends are also licensed by Portsmouth Diocese.
We are always looking for more Anna Friends, please contact Jane if you are interested. Two members of our congregation have offered to join the team and once commissioned will go through a short training and then visit or talk on the telephone to local people and care home.
5. Conclusion
Currently Jane serves two Care Homes every month interacting with up to 20 residents in each home; in a monthly Songs of Praise service and with individual visits. Her case load is 10 additional individuals which has reduced from 16 due to deaths and discharge.
Jane Wilshaw
Anna Chaplain
28.09.2025