Chapter 3: Stepping into God’s promise
Why? It's the question we aren’t supposed to ask. Why did this happen to us?
Through all the challenges we have faced throughout our lives, we have worked hard not to question God or to ask why particular things have happened. Rather than dwelling on the past, we work hard to fix our eyes on what God is leading us into?
One of the songs Lois listened to while she was in hospital was the Elevation Worship song “My Testimony”. The line in the song, “If I’m not dead, You’re not done, greater things are still to come” (John 14:12), has given us a sense of purpose and perspective on our future.
In Philippians 1:6 Paul writes - “And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you, will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ”, later in verses 21 and 22 he says - “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labour for me”. Paul says that as long as he is living on earth, that he will live a life of fruitful labour.
The same is true for us, we have been given another chance to fulfil the plans that God has for us and to devote the rest of our lives to serving him.
In Easter 2022, we both felt that it was time to begin to mobilise Bristol Chaplaincy again. The project had been on hold for 18 months while Lois was in hospital and recovering and we both felt strongly that the vision that God had birthed in us a few years ago, was still valid, and was where God is still calling us to go. We began reconnecting with chaplaincy friends and contacts in Bristol and through the rest of 2022, the project began to accelerate and build momentum.
So what is Chaplaincy?
Chaplaincy is a profession that provides free, confidential and unconditional support to adults of any faith or none at all. We recognise that everyone has physical, emotional and spiritual needs and chaplains are motivated by their Christian faith to offer compassionate and caring support to anyone who needs it. Chaplains offer a non-judgmental and a confidential listening ear to the people they meet. We aim to listen, to help people find hope, and even provide a solution to the challenge, issue or change that they might be facing.
We both particularly love chaplaincy as it gives us an opportunity to support people in places that the church just can’t reach. We don’t expect people to come in to the church, we go out and meet them where they are.
The vision God has given us is exciting. We are both currently volunteering for a combined 5+ days a week, and we have many opportunities we can’t explore and progress at the moment. Our chaplaincy work isn’t currently paid and this significantly limits what we can and can’t do. We do have a good rhythm to our week which looks a bit like this.
Monday Mornings - Rich volunteers as a sports chaplain at the Bristol Bears Rugby Club.
Tuesdays - Rich and Lois both volunteer as workplace chaplains supporting business in Temple Quay, a business district in the centre of Bristol
Fridays - Rich and Lois both volunteer as chaplains in the Crown Courts, supporting victims, witnesses, defendants, families and the court staff and judges.
Our growing team of volunteers also work with us in the crown courts, as community chaplains, workplace chaplains, and in the university of law.
However, our lack of funding and an income from the work we are doing is now causing us a significant challenge. We are contacted every week by people interested in exploring chaplaincy, and students asking if we can help facilitate them with a placement for their studies. We have many opportunities to establish new chaplaincies that we just can’t progress without funding or an income for us both. Some of these opportunities are as follows -
Harbourside chaplaincy to the floating community
Chaplaincy to the arts and theatre’s in Bristol
Training and establishing community chaplains in every community in greater Bristol
Retail chaplaincy in the shopping areas in the city centre
Chaplaincy based in Bristol Cathedral and supporting those living and working in the surrounding areas
Placements for students
Expansion of the court chaplaincy
Workplace chaplaincy supporting other businesses in the city centre
We are actively starting to fundraise, and apply for a number of grants but the process for applying for funding takes a lot of time.
Therefore, we are today launching an opportunity for you to directly partner with us to help establish and grow this exciting ministry in Bristol. With your help, together we can make a significant difference and secure the growth and expansion of Bristol Chaplaincy. In a post-pandemic society in the middle of a cost of living crisis, the number of people facing challenges in their lives is significant and we believe that Bristol Chaplaincy is poised to make a difference, providing support and helping people to find solutions to the challenges they face.
We have set ourselves a goal to raise between £30,000 and £50,000 for the project. As well as covering the essential core project running costs, this will enable us both to give up our other paid income, and focus 100% of our time on developing and growing the project, exploring all the opportunities we have available to us, recruiting more volunteers and completing grant applications to fund the project for a further 3 years between 2024 and 2026.
We are excited about the future and the vision God has given us. We are trusting in Him and know that he will guide our steps and provide the resources we need.
The one thing we ask of everyone who reads this, is to please take a short moment to pray for us. The time you took to pray for Lois while she was in hospital meant so much to us both, and your prayers for Bristol Chaplaincy mean just as much. If you can also commit to praying for us regularly that would be amazing.
If you would like to support us and our project financially, with a one off gift, or a regular donation, please get in touch by emailing us at info@bristolchaplaincy.co.uk.
Thank you so much for your support and in particular your prayers.
Richard and Lois Evans