Taunton Chaplaincy - Update January 2025
Taunton Team Chaplaincy aims to actively make the Christian faith relevant in the Taunton area. 30+ Chaplains offer free and confidential support for people of any age in a wide range of business and community settings regardless of background, ethnicity or culture by providing emotional, spiritual and practical support to those they meet. The team, drawn from 17 local churches, motivated by their faith to provide help for needy and vulnerable people regardless of whether they have any faith or none, is managed by a paid part-time Lead Chaplain, and overseen by a board of trustees. The Chaplaincy (charity number 1136868) started operating in 2010 with 3 chaplains.
Chaplains operate in the following seven “clusters” (some chaplains belonging to more than one cluster):
· Residents and staff in 8 care homes, together with 2 retirement housing complexes (7 chaplains + 4 associate chaplains);
· The general public and rail staff at Taunton railway station and around the Obridge viaduct (an area known as a suicide 'hotspot'). Chaplains in this cluster are badged as ‘Rail Responders’. (8 Rail Responders);
· Defendants, families and staff at Taunton Magistrates Court (10 chaplains);
· Staff in a large supermarket (2 associate chaplains)
· Staff in the UK Hydrographic Office (1 chaplain);
· The general public in Vivary Park (2 chaplains);
· The street homeless, rough sleepers and disadvantaged young adults (where we work with in partnership with two other charities). (2 chaplains).
Each of these clusters is overseen by a volunteer convenor who assists the Lead Chaplain. 10 associate chaplains (not directly appointed to their placement by TTC) link to the Chaplaincy for training and support as necessary. Associates operate in care homes and a supermarket. We also have an associate chaplain working among construction workers on a large new housing estate in Taunton, and another is a chaplain at the Hinkley Point C construction site.
Rail Responders work in pairs. All wear a distinctive uniform with our branding on the front and back. Rail Responders started in 2018 at the request of the British Transport Police to provide trained Christian volunteers at Taunton Rail Station to look out for vulnerable people intent on taking their own lives both on the tracks and the nearby viaduct. Rail Responders have received special training from the Samaritans and Mind to deal with such situations.
Chaplains are never imposed on a business or organisation. The benefits of having a chaplain are explained when owners and managers are asked if they would like a chaplain to attend regularly (usually for half a day a week, but sometimes longer). Chaplains become valued as trusted friends by the people they meet regularly. Current demand from placements for new chaplains greatly exceeds the supply of volunteers.
We are the only charity in Taunton offering these particular community services.
Each volunteer chaplain is supported by one of the 17 local churches from which the team is drawn. They receive chaplaincy training from the Bath and Wells C of E Diocese, are DBS checked, have undertaken safeguarding awareness training and received Mental Health First Aid training. Chaplains are offered regular training in other topical subjects (e.g. awareness of hate crime and dementia awareness). Training for responding to bereavement is planned.
If people we meet ask for prayer, we are able to offer it in person and/or by means of a confidential prayer letter which engages more than 100 partners. We have seen many answers to these prayers.
Details of the need for funding and additional chaplains and Trustees..
We regularly seek funding to cover the ongoing core costs of providing services to the community. It also allows us to develop Chaplaincy, especially into the Crown court, where senior judges have asked for a chaplaincy presence because they have seen the difference it makes in the magistrates' court and have been commended by successive High Sherrfiffs. We are now exploring the possibility of extending chaplaincy in primary schools, as teaching staff sometimes struggle to support pupils' emotional needs in the midst of increasing demands on their time and resources.
The people chaplains meet often have ongoing needs, heightened by the increased cost of living, creating fear and panic for some, particularly those with reduced resilience to deprivation. All sectors of society are affected, especially people in lower-paid employment. Societal pressures like these contribute to poor mental health, and can even lead to suicidal thoughts for the most vulnerable. The legacy of the pandemic is still being felt in terms of chronic mental ill-health, business uncertainty and general human interaction.
A comment by a courts chaplain in November 2024 illustrates the breadth of need in just one area of our work: ‘At court yesterday we met such needy folk, issues covered drug and alcohol dependency, homelessness, job loss, jail, access to children, mental health with thoughts of suicide’.
Excluding associate chaplains, our own volunteers work for an estimated 5,760 hours per year, which would equate to £66,000 if their time were costed at the National Living Wage rates.
The impact of court cases can lead to potentially life-changing circumstances for defendants and their dependents, who are already among the more deprived members of society. We continue to support the elderly in care homes (c. 500 residents) for whom loneliness and isolation are common problems. Loneliness is also a common issue for those encountered in the town’s park. We partner with Good News for Everyone (formerly Gideons UK) which provides New Testaments bearing the Chaplaincy’s logo. These are much appreciated, particularly large print versions, among care home residents.
The marginalised and homeless in our community continue to be helped find acceptance in society and achieve their potential. They usually lack social skills, literacy and the basic necessities for life. We work with two charities: a day centre for the homeless and a unit for disadvantaged young adults who are given accommodation, job training and life skills. The latest rough sleeping statistics for Somerset show numbers are increasing.
Chaplains signpost people to services such as debt advice, Food Bank, bereavement counselling and services for the homeless, mental health services and drug/drink dependencies.
Chaplains have recently started offering chaplaincy in two primary schools. We hope to expand our work in the education sector in future.
There is a huge hunger for love, hope and faith in our town.
Can you give time to pray for distressed and hurting people in Taunton?
Could you join the team and make a difference in a practical but eternal way? A number in our congregation already do! Why not join us?