I recently had the honour of becoming Chaplain to the incoming Chairman of Nottinghamshire County Council, Cllr John Ogle. Each year in May, a new Chairman is elected to lead the County Council who then announces his/her chaplain for the year. Our appointments follow on from the outgoing Chairman, Cllr Roger Jackson and his chaplain, Revd Frances Finn. Both tough acts to follow but both Cllr Ogle and I will do our very best to live up to their high standards!
One key role of the chaplain is to open each Full Council Meeting with a short thought/prayer. This sense of setting our County Council business of the day into ‘something bigger’ mirrors the tradition of our national government where Mr Speaker’s Chaplain opens the daily session of parliament in prayer.
There will be opportunities to accompany Cllr Ogle at various events in the coming year. In particular, I’m looking forward to joining him at The Festival of Faiths on Saturday 3rd June; and Armed Forces Day on Monday 19th June which links well into my other role as Squadron Chaplain to 1403 (Retford) RAF Air Cadets. Cllr Ogles’s chosen charity for this year is NSSPCC, so lots to get involved with on all levels.
For a ‘Notts Lass’ like me, it’s a good way to become more involved in supporting our rather lovely county in the heart of England. When I was younger, (so much younger than today) I’d sing along to the Beatles’ song about ‘When I’m 64’ thinking that being 64 was very much over the hill. How wrong I was! It seems that this year, God has opened up so many new opportunities to live Life in all its fullness!