Chaplains at Large – Ministry Beyond the Parish

Throughout New Zealand chaplains work in schools, hospitals, prisons, aged-care facilities and universities, providing support for the spiritual and moral wellbeing of students, patients, prisoners, residents, service personnel, and their whanau.

Their responsibilities are varied and regardless of where they are engaged, no day is entirely predictable; the role of a chaplain may involve performing religious rituals, conducting worship services, providing confidential counselling, sharing conversation over coffee, or simply listening and providing a quiet space for a person in need to contemplate and talk.

Collaboration with colleagues and multidisciplinary teams associated with their educational, military, remand or care facility is also a key component of any chaplains working week. Competencies required for the role are as varied as the ‘average’ workday, but empathy, compassion, excellent listening and pastoral skills, and a high level of religious, spiritual, and theological understanding are key attributes.

In this article we invite a current and former university chaplain to share an insight into their pastoral work, and how their chaplaincy role differs from parish ministry. In future editions we will share reports from chaplains working in medical and military chaplaincy roles.

University Chaplaincy

The University of Canterbury website states, “UC Chaplaincy offers pastoral and practical support regardless of someone’s background or beliefs. Chaplains see themselves as ‘The Department of Spiritual Engineering’ on campus”. That is an apt description of a service that is available to students and staff at every university and Te Pūkenga (polytechnic) in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Six ecumenical chaplains (3.7 FTE) currently work across the University and Te Pūkenga campuses in Dunedin and the University of Otago’s Christchurch campus. Funding varies depending on the Chaplaincy. In the case of Otago, Ecumenical Chaplaincy ministry is funded by money raised by an Ecumenical Trust Board (from Church Trusts and individual donations) and the institutions the Chaplains serve, in this case Otago University and Otago Polytechnic.

Rev Olivia Dawson joined the team of Otago Campus Chaplains in July 2018. She was ordained as a Baptist Minister in 2010 and served in parish ministry and hospital chaplaincy before starting work at Otago. Olivia says one of the greatest differences at university is that unlike at church or in a parish, the role is less defined and less specific, so the delivery of pastoral care is more generalist. “At university not everyone has a Christian background. We recognise that everyone has a spiritual wellbeing that needs to be nurtured so we offer emotional and spiritual support. Everyone needs that.”

Otago university chaplains - ecumenical, Māori, Catholic and Muslim - work in close association with other campus support services although they are one of the only services that work alongside students and staff. Olivia says the time spent with students versus staff varies amongst chaplains, however in general, students are better versed at seeking campus support than staff.

Chaplaincy services operate year-round on campus, and chaplains are reachable at any time of the day. Although Olivia says there is no typical day, there are rhythms to the academic year that influence the focus of the chaplain’s time. “During exams we spend a lot of time in general chats and dealing with office appointments. During orientation we are involved in special events, working with Christian and faith groups, international students and themed events and activities. On any day we might be meeting with other student support service personnel, having lunch with colleagues at college or sharing time over coffee”.

When asked to comment on the best and worst of times, Oliva says, “Sometimes the high moments and the low moments happen at the same time. “During critical incidents spiritual and emotional needs are abundant. This results in challenging and meaningful conversations and interactions.”

The impacts of Covid are lingering as students have spent so much time over the past few years working and studying at home. “It takes more effort to speak up if they are unsettled, but in general this generation of students has the language for expressing themselves but they often need assistance in finding the tools to deal with their mental, spiritual and emotional health.” Chaplains are not hired to be counsellors; pastoral care involves listening, reflecting, nurturing, caring, encouraging mentoring and coaching and offering professional friendship.

Beyond the impacts of Covid, there are some issues unique to life on campus, including academic pressures and the stress of making life-changing decisions. “Students in the 18- to 22-year-old age bracket are asking big questions like, What do I do with this life? How do I make it all meaningful? There are general themes we all struggle with and when you add exam and other academic pressures, suddenly a demanding situation they may usually handle with ease becomes paralysing and they need extra support,” Olivia says.

Rev Greg Hughson was university chaplain at Otago University from 2000 until he retired in 2019. As part of a team providing pastoral care and emotional and spiritual support to diverse student and staff communities, Greg says people visit their chaplains for many reasons that are not always associated with faith. In an interview at the time of his retirement, Greg shared an analogy that symbolised his almost 20-year tenure at the university. When he first started, he was handed a saltshaker and a candle – two items that underpinned his approach to his role. (Matthew 5 vs. 1-15).

“Salt has the capacity to change the flavour of food and to make a difference to the taste of food. Chaplaincy has to do with changing and ideally improving the 'flavour' of institutions – wherever Chaplaincies are planted, wherever institutions choose to allow room for them to be present.

“The candle is a symbol of the privilege Chaplains have of bringing light and hope into dark and difficult situations.”

Greg initially studied science and was drawn to ministry training as he became increasingly involved with church youth leadership and lay preaching whilst working in the scientific field. In response to a strong calling from God, in January 1985 Greg and his family (wife Hilda and two young children) moved to Auckland where he spent three years at Trinity/ St John’s Theological College training to be an ordained Methodist presbyter. He went on to attain a Bachelor of Divinity degree with Distinction from Otago and spent 12 years in parish ministry before he was appointed to the role of University of Otago Chaplain.

Greg identifies many differences between parish ministry and university chaplaincy, starting with the number of people he was potentially available to offer pastoral care and spiritual support to (i.e. approximately 18,000 students and 3,000 staff) and the reality ofrepresenting the entire Protestant church rather than a single denomination. In place of Sunday worship responsibilities, he might be involved in arranging interdisciplinary academic gatherings on campus. And in contrast to parish engagements, university ministry is predominantly to young people, many of whom have no church or faith background. Diversity of the international community served - students from over 80 countries study at Otago - and the unique cultural and spiritual values of Māori and Pasifika students also create differences between campus and parish ministry. “Māori and Pasifika cultures realise the centrality of taha wairua. Te Whare Tapa Wha, including spiritual health, provides a "way in" for chaplains in predominantly secular environments,” Greg says.

Dealing mostly with younger people has other profound implications. “At university there is more sudden death to deal with than parish ministry, where funerals are largely for elderly people. At university, it is younger people who die unexpectedly because of illness, accident or suicide,” Greg says. Specialist skills include an ability to respond appropriately to critical incidents and to have a deep knowledge of other faiths/religions.

During his time at Otago Greg noticed demand for counselling services increased considerably for students experiencing more pressures and uncertainties due to a range of issues and circumstances. “Many face the prospect of uncertain job opportunities and carry large debts on graduation. A sizable number drop out after their first year. Many lose their first friend or family member during their time at university.”

Social media comes with positive and negative effects and Greg agrees that the digital age has made a significant difference to student life. At present there is extra stress at Otago and Victoria Universities due to large financial deficits leading to proposed staff redundancies and course cancellations.

Olivia comments that chaplains benefit from the pastoral support they receive from their own faith communities and a National Conference for university chaplains in 2022 that brought together approximately 35 colleagues to share experiences was empowering and inspiring. “We are all doing similar work the best way we can. It is a privilege to work alongside other chaplains and student support services, all involved in caring for the wellbeing of our tertiary population in New Zealand.”