The retail sector has been through some difficult times, none more so than the past two and a half years; with the energy crisis looming, things are set to get tougher.
In Rhos-on-Sea, in Wales, a retail chaplaincy has been set up by the United Reformed Church (URC) and several other churches to help owners and employees.
The Revd Julia Bartholomew, Minister of Rhos-on-Sea URC, explains more about the chaplaincy and what part Stepwise, the URC’s discipleship development programme, has played.
“We began Faith-filled Life, the Stepwise introductory stream in autumn 2019. As part of that, we were asked to complete a project which involved getting to know our local community better.
“We went out into the village one Saturday morning in December expecting to meet hordes of Christmas shoppers, but the streets were empty. So, we went into the shops instead and began talking to the retailers. The chaplaincy grew out of a desire to support them in their work which is often lonely and unrewarding.”
The chaplaincy was used to provide a compassionate presence in the community when Russia invaded Ukraine and all things Russian were cancelled.
“One of the retailers is Russian,” continues Julia. “As we entered her shop this summer, we silently prayed ‘What is the Christian response here? How can we show love to Natasha, an avid fan of Putin’.
“Very soon the conversation led us to the anguish and isolation she and her daughter found in seeing Ukrainian flags flying on all of the public buildings. ‘War is never good’ my fellow chaplain proposed. The three of us agreed. ‘Then let us three sisters join together asking God to bring peace to Russia and Ukraine’, I responded.
“That resonated with Natasha, so right there in the shop we held hands united in prayer.”
There are around 10 people in the Stepwise group who have moved on from Faith-fueled Leadership to the Faith-filled Worship stream.
Over the summer they visited different denominations exploring styles of worship, pairing up to co-lead in churches other than their own. They’ve also designed a Holy Habits sermon series.
A few are now considering becoming a locally recognised worship leader, and a couple are considering NSM4 (Non-Stipendiary Ministry Model 4) which involves discerning a call and being equipped for service.
“It is wonderful to see how Stepwise has enabled people to explore God’s call and be equipped for mission” adds Julia.
In this video, we hear from other members of the chaplaincy who explain more about what it’s about, why they do it and their hopes for the future.
Find out more about Stepwise here.