This is a copy of the press release for the commissioning of Tina Osborne as a Waterways Chaplain.
A Waterways Chaplain for the Parish of Wisley with Pyrford
The service at the Church of the Good Shepherd, Pyrford on 29 October was a particularly special one for Tina Osborne who is a Licensed Lay Minister in the Parish of Wisley with Pyrford.
Tina was commissioned as a Waterways Chaplain by Revd Mark Chester, Senior Waterways Chaplain for the UK.
The Waterways Chaplaincy is developing a national network extending into both rural and urban communities. It offers support to those who use and live on the UK’s waterways and canals. Chaplains are volunteers from local churches who regularly visit the waterways, offering companionship and a listening ear to individuals and businesses. They are interested in whoever they meet be they boaters, cyclists, walkers, runners, anglers or canal workers.
Tina said: “My husband James and I are keen users of the Wey Navigation and beyond on our narrowboat Tristan lll. The Wey Navigation runs right through our parish and I regularly walk the towpath along the Wey from Byfleet through Pyrford to Send. Given my existing role as a Licensed Lay Minister it seemed natural to extend this calling to the waterways and become a Waterways Chaplain.”
Revd Mark Chester presented Tina with her own Windlass for operating lock gates engraved with the words ‘Act justly, love mercy and walk humbly with God’. Mark said: “In recent years there have been an increasing numbers of people moving on to the waterways. There has been a huge resurgence of interest and popularity in the nation’s waterway network. There are about 36,000 craft on the waterways now – very many more than at the height of the industrial revolution. Our Chaplains seek to support and encourage everyone, regardless of all faiths and none and stand ready to discuss spiritual and practical matters if invited to do so.”