Anna Chaplaincy Founder Steps Aside to 'Age Well'

                                                                                                                   Wednesday October 18 2023

THE founder of a pioneering chaplaincy working with older people is stepping back to 'age well'.

The former journalist and broadcaster, and now Church of England licensed lay minister, Debbie Thrower developed Anna Chaplaincy for Older People in Alton, Hampshire from 2010. She announced this week she would step back from the chaplaincy next month. The chaplaincy

Named after the widow Anna, who appears with Simeon in Luke’s gospel, Anna Chaplaincy provides training and support to individuals and churches who want to offer skilled, compassionate spiritual care among older people, including those living with dementia. Anna Chaplains are there for people of strong, little or no faith. From small beginnings, the network has grown to well over 300 Anna Chaplains (including a number in Scotland) and the vision remains to have an Anna Chaplain in every small- and medium-sized community throughout the UK. The chaplaincy is a ministry of Christian charity BRF, Bible Reading Fellowship.

Debbie explained: “There’s nothing like receiving notification of your state pension to bring home the fact that you’re officially an old-age pensioner. It’s a bittersweet feeling handing on the baton to my colleagues as Anna Chaplaincy has been such an overwhelming part of my life, but it’s time to practice what I preach and try to ‘age well.’ Part of that is about less ‘doing’ and more ‘being’; going on growing spiritually and keeping relationships in good repair.”

A new lead Debbie Ducille, currently responsible for church relationships with BRF, will take over the role from Debbie in late November. She said: “I am hugely grateful to have been able to work alongside Debbie during this time and have learned so much from her. I feel humbled by her trust in me and the team as she steps aside now, into retirement but also into a new, exciting form of advocacy for the ministry model she has worked so hard to establish.”

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