RAF CHAPLAINCY
Padre Mitchell at RAF Halton.
RAF Chaplaincy within the Christian tradition has always emphasised serving by prayer, presence and proclamation. These three elements are still critical elements of Christian Chaplaincy today.
Prayer
Prayer underpins all that Christian chaplains do within the Royal Air Force. When serving within chaplaincy teams it is vital to seek opportunity for prayer. Christian chaplains come from very different backgrounds, and the nature and form that prayer may take will differ.
For those serving in more isolated situations, maintaining a personal prayer life becomes even more vital in sustaining Ministry within this unique community.‘ Say one for me Padre’ is a common request, and it is rare that an offer to pray for an individual is ever refused. The young, and largely‘ non-religious’ demographic of the RAF, are in general very open to, and desirous of‘ vicarious religion,’ the idea that someone is praying on their behalf and indeed an offer to pray with somebody is often met extremely positively.
Presence
Chaplains within the Royal Air Force exercise a ministry which requires a certain amount of inculcation into the community in which the chaplain serves. A chaplain must understand the ethos of the Royal Air Force in order to minister in a culturally acceptable and effectively appropriate manner.
In much the same way as one might learn a new language or various customs when working in a new context, RAF chaplains must train and learn alongside those to whom we seek to minister. It is in living, working, eating, and deploying alongside those to whom we seek to minister, that we both earn the right to conduct that ministry, and inform and inspire that ministry. Chaplains seek to serve others by walking alongside those who live and work in this unique community and seeking to serve them according to their needs.
The role of an RAF chaplain of faith frequently encompasses opportunities for public prayer, such as acts of remembrance, graduation parades, memorials, dedications and other formal occasions, some joyful, others more sombre but all of which form the foundations of the traditions and ethos of the Royal Air Force.
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