Faith in the Community: Anna Chaplains explore positive picture of ageing

I wonder what images flash through your mind when you think about older people? These days, our perceptions are often about those who are frail or need caring for.

However, throughout history and in other cultures, older people are often seen as wiser, with insights to share and with experiences to call on.

In the churches around Portsmouth, we’ve been developing something called ‘Anna Chaplaincy’, which is about offering spiritual care to older people, and also learning from their accumulated wisdom. Our volunteer Anna Chaplains go into care homes and people’s homes to learn from and to worship alongside those who are elderly.

The chaplains are named after Anna, the elderly prophetess who the Bible says was one of the first to recognise the infant Jesus as the Messiah.

There are more than 70 Anna Chaplains across south-east Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. Their ministry in this area has grown hugely since it was launched in 2020.

This week, we gathered many of them at Portsmouth Cathedral for a day entitled ‘Changing the Narrative of Ageing’. We looked at how we could help to provide a positive picture of ageing in our communities.

Among the topics we tackled was how to advocate on behalf of older people to secure justice; how to help people to prepare for older age; the physical, cognitive and environmental changes people face; and the value of working in community, especially across the generations. We heard from speakers from the Rowans Hospice and from the team at the Queen Alexandra Hospital.

It reinforced for us how easy it is to ‘write off’ older people, whereas they may have helpful insights into the human condition or the Christian faith. And so many of them continue to volunteer in ways that hold our communities together.

We ended the day with a worship service at the cathedral to mark Candlemas – the time of year when we remember the infant Jesus going to the Temple, where his family met Anna. Bishop Jonathan led our service and re-commissioned us for this important work.

If you want to learn more, or if you know of opportunities for those who are elderly to be involved in community life in your area, see: www.portsmouth.anglican.org/anna