Rural Chaplains are people with a heart for bringing the love of Christ to those scattered across rural and remote areas

Rural Chaplaincy is an ecumenical project for Otago-Southland.

When Jesus described his ministry in Luke 4:18-19, he did so in the words of Isaiah:

‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me
to bring good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives
and recovery of sight to the blind,
to let the oppressed go free,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.’

As part of the Body of Christ, the Church, that is the mission of Rural Chaplains as well. We are there for anyone, interpreting words like “poor,” “captives,” etc figuratively as well as literally, since people can be poor in hope, be captive to financial problems or loneliness, be blind to the way forward, be oppressed by fear, or any other of a range of situations and conditions. Rural Chaplains are there to care, listen, be a presence, build relationships, trust and – where appropriate – direct people to practical support. In doing so, we are both acting as Christ’s Body, and recognising Christ in the other, regardless of their beliefs.

Chaplains must earn any trust they are given. We follow the general rule of only going into the emotional and spiritual areas of people’s lives that they invite us into – never barging in, never even knocking obtrusively, but waiting for a door to be opened.  If people invite us to talk of God, we will, willingly. If people invite us to pray, we will, willingly. If they do not, we will care for them regardless, and receive their own views and beliefs gently and respectfully. People must feel completely safe with us. Our offering of care must never have strings attached, because we believe in a God of grace.

In 2022 we licensed our first Rural Chaplain, the Rev’d Barb Walker, to Southland. You may see Barb chatting to people at a rural show, visiting farmers, enjoying a local pub or sharing a cuppa with someone in a cafe. You’ll recognise her because of her hi-viz jacket with “RURAL CHAPLAIN” on the back. It’s not subtle!

So we’ve started with Southland. The team is growing into Central Otago and beyond – we are hoping that churches of all denominations will be able to work together on this important ministry.