Over a hundred chaplains from around the country descended on Lichfield Cathedral in November to celebrate their ministry and commission new chaplains.
Waterways Chaplains provide an ear and support for the many people using the canals and navigable rivers of England and Wales for business and leisure. The chaplains come from a number of denominations and may be working or retired church members or ministers living near or on the water, who by walking the towpaths get to know their local area and people.
The Waterways Chaplaincy organisation has grown rapidly in the past few years and being their first gathering since the outbreak of covid, around twenty new chaplains were commissioned in Friday’s service which included a sermon from The Ven Peter Rouch, CEO of Church Army, and a eucharist lead by Bishop Michael.
Among those attending was Revd Mike Bridgewater, who is the senior Waterways Chaplain in the Staffordshire hub, and Barbara Davis, the Lead chaplain for the north of England also based in north Staffordshire, who are among the handful of Waterways Chaplains covering the canals of Staffordshire, Shropshire and the Black Country:
