Report on St Hilda’s College Chaplaincy

Background Paper for Meeting for Business for Worship on 3 April 2023

As my third year as College Chaplain at St Hilda’s ends, I take some time to reflect and rest. These past few years were far from ordinary.

South Building at St. Hilda’s College, Oxford, Wikipedia

 

In my three years as College Chaplain, I saw my college through lockdown, addressed the invasion of Ukraine, witnessed Elisabeth of Windsor’s passing (and the duties that followed as an Oxbridge College Chaplain, I could write a book about!), and I saw my hometown in Turkey under rubble.

At the University level, those of us with pastoral care duties saw an increased demand for Student Support and Welfare Services during the COVID-19 pandemic. The University Counselling Service at Oxford has reported that 13.5% of the student body are using their services; 24.3% of the student body are now registered with the Disability Advisory Service; and the Sexual Harassment and Violence Support Service saw a 21% increase in referrals from the previous year.

As Chaplains we are there for everyone, across a variety of situations including those that we then signpost onto the aforementioned services. As Chaplains we act in the in-between times: before and after meetings, or counselling sessions; immediately after sexual harassment, and then again after a referral; immediately after loss and then again at the funeral; at times when the world is a bit too much and then again when we cherish it anew.

This is the part of our work that mostly remains hidden because of confidentiality. There is also the part of our work that is visible—organising events, bringing together communities, celebrating religious festivals.

In general terms, I would describe my ministry in the past three years as outward-facing: to bring people ‘in’. This had many reasons – me being the first Quaker in post as Chaplain at an Oxbridge college; the situation I was left with at St Hilda’s when the previous Chaplain left; the task of building up a multi-faith chaplaincy from scratch.

Milham Ford Building by the River Cherwell. Wikipedia.

This has not come without its challenges, Friends, and I feel very tired. It has taken its toll on me. I feel the need for rest and reflection. With less doing and more being. A quietist period. Inward-facing.

Supporting my college community with gentle prayers and nourishing my spirit (and body) along the way. Guided by the inner light, I feel this is the right way forward for my ministry at St Hilda’s.

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Forty-Three Newsletter • Number 529 • May 2023
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