THE  FUTURE OF THE CHAPLAINCY.

The Costa Blanca Anglican Chaplaincy is an important part of my life. So I have read, re-read, thought about and prayed almost every night about Fr. Peter’s treatise.  

The problem.  The number of people attending our services has decreased and there is an increasing percentage of old and/or infirm souls. With the Spanish economy in recession new arrivals of young working people with families have declined. The financial crisis in Europe is having a material affect on many peoples’ incomes and a psychological affect on people who fear for their future financial security and are as a result tightening their purse strings “just in case”. 

The consequences.   A decrease in the Chaplaincy’s regular income and a lesser number of able bodied people to run all the Chaplaincy’s lay activities.  This means that the faithful few who are undertaking the lay operations of the Chaplaincy are working at full stretch almost on a weekly basis

Mission. One of Fr. Peter’s key words is Mission – or rather, the lack of success in that field in the Chaplaincy.   I looked for a definition of Mission, since it was an oft used word in the armed forces –  and found “To strive to proclaim the good news of the Church through worship, ministry and outreach”.  Maybe its incomplete or incorrect in the context of Fr. Peter’s  treatise, but it has served to focus my mind on Mission. 

Then, I have interpreted  Strategy as the means by which we go about achieving the Church’s mission.

There are two very distinct strategies which the Chaplaincy could consider.

   -    We cut our cloth according to our size.

-  -  We reach out to the 80,000 British citizens registered on the Costa Blanca and to the hundreds of thousands of British holidaymakers who visit Benidorm every year.

Last summer at Paul’s house we had a discussion on the Harvest Deficit campaign and I suggested the need to economize on the number of full time chaplains, church services, cars and general expenses. Stu and Paul were not comfortable with my ideas. Some time later I heard that it had been decided, “we would carry on as before”.

I would like to expand along the lines of (1) above:-

Staff. One chaplain, any retired and already pensioned clergy in the chaplaincy and lay readers or suitably qualified persons.

Organization.  1 house for the chaplain, 1 Chaplaincy car, Chaplaincy fixed phone with internet broadband connection and a Chaplaincy mobile.  With stipend, social security and all justified expenses.  Retired clergy and lay readers. A fee for each service taken, plus a mileage allowance based on the Spanish Tax authorities calculation for business use of cars, and justified expenses.

Church Services.  Holy Communion once a month in each active Chaplaincy church conducted by a priest or by a lay reader with ready consecrated bread and wine, as a minimum, more Communion services when possible. On other Sundays Matins with a short sermon.

These changes to  be accompanied by a more relaxed approach to the whole routine of church set-up, lesson reading, sales of books, cards etc, coffee and cake serving, committee meetings, church council and sub committees. With the object of creating a feeling of “we are all in this together lets all muck in and get the jobs done” on a friendly collaborative basis. 

Point (2) above would require the participation of the Diocese with specialist clergy and staff with experience in undertaking a crusade* and an investment by the Diocese in the expense of such a crusade.  The result of a well conducted campaign would be a very significant increase in the size of the Chaplaincy church congregations and consequentially an healthy increase in income.

Fr. Peter mentions the possibility of a breakaway or the setting up of independant churches.  If push were to come to shove and Campello Church was forced to close, I would strongly recommend a dialogue with the Spanish Episcopal Churchin Alicante.  I have attended services there and found myself to be comfortable with the priest, the services and members of the congregation.  It might be good to talk to them anyway to see if there are ways we could collaborate and economise.

One final thought.  The Chaplaincy is entirely self-financed.  People need to be made fully aware of that and to think that the money contributed by them is being spent on the total budgeted expenditureof the Chaplaincy and they should therefore be thinking in terms of actively participating in the decisions on how it is spent.

 I was brought up in the “brainstorming” tradition:  to throw all the ideas and suggestions into the ring, however crazy they may seem, and then thrash out the best policy amongst those sitting around the table.  I regard Fr. Peter’s treatise rather in the same light.  Difficult to digest, but there are an awful lot of important questions and ideas there which do need “brainstorming” by representative cross section of  Chaplaincy members.

I hope that what I have expressed above will contribute to a new approach Chaplaincy affairs.

*This word may imply the issue a fatwah in my name by the Imam of Muchamiel