'Being There': how Catholic chaplains support seafarers in the UK

Tens of thousands of seafarers visit British ports each year, making brief stops – perhaps of only a few hours – after days or weeks at sea. These ‘people of the sea’ (St John Paul II) remain almost invisible to the rest of the community, even in towns and cities whose own prosperity relies greatly on the shipping industry. The Apostleship of the Sea, continuing a tradition that goes back to the Early Church, offers vital forms of aid and assistance to all seafarers, regardless of religion or nationality. This ‘simple response to immediate needs and specific situations’ which is chief among ‘the essential elements of Christian and ecclesial charity’ (Benedict XVI) takes a variety of forms. In this fifth Centre research report, based on extensive fieldwork at ports across England and Wales, we explore the hard and ‘hidden’ lives of seafarers, and the vital work undertaken by AoS in supporting them

From Values to Vocation: Designing and delivering Primary PG Masters Modules at St Mary’s University College

As we prepared to introduce Masters level into the PGCE programmes, some lecturers voiced critical, pedagogical opposition to the imposition of Masters modules. Some students questioned their integrity and value. The process has nurtured and challenged students and lecturers into a growing awareness of themselves as educators and educational theorists, generating theories of practice. ‘From Values to Vocation’ elucidates this journey. This paper will contend that appropriate Masters modules are those that focus on the emergent teacher and not the teacher in practice, and a critical and reflective examination of self and the values that have led one to teaching. It is hoped that these modules will generate: a critical stance towards one’s own learning as pupil and teacher; research that is unique to the individual but resonates with and contributes to the academy; and a growing realisation that teachers can exert change in their own classroom and not only influence but also become policy makers

Getting resourced: Letting go and letting God - books for exploring bereavement with children.

Maureen takes a look at books with resources to help children cope with death and dying

The teacher as an authentic person

In exploring the notion of the teacher as an authenic person an understanding of authenticity and what it means to be authentic in the classroom is pivotal. If the unexamined life is not worth living then any lived experience, to be authentic, must of necessity involve self-examination. In what way and to what extent does the type of person one is influence the type of teacher one is

Getting resourced: Getting personal

The author explores two resources - one web-based, the other a book - which might be effectively used in a range of pastoral contexts. http://preparedcatholic.com and McBride, Denis (2010) Praying with pictures. Redemptorist publications

Presence in pilgrimage: an exploration of chaplaincy in Catholic secondary schools in England and Wales

In spite of a decrease in institutionalised church attendance, the search for what might be understood as a plausible belief within a lived faith is enacted every day in Catholic schools across England and Wales. In many schools, the person who actualises and personifies this desire is the school chaplain. But who is a chaplain? What do they do? What difference do they make? Presence in Pilgrimage seeks to answer these questions by asking the people whose lives are lived at the heart of this enquiry - teachers, chaplains and students. Narratives of theory and experience are interwoven to elucidate the contribution that school chaplaincy makes to the mission of Catholic education and thus its status as a primary ministry of the contemporary Catholic Church. In so doing, Maureen Glackin contends that where a financial, spiritual and emotional commitment to school chaplaincy exists, a unique relatonship of ''presence in pilgrimage'' is realised in which staff celebrate and students revel

Getting resourced: Exploring the 'brave new word'

Reviews of two new books which aim to assist with the introduction of the new Missal: Morris, Allen. How we pray the Mass: explaining the Mass to young people of Confirmation age. Essex: McCrimmons, 2011 and Morris, Allen. A beginner's guide to praying the Mass: explaining th emass to young people of Communion age. Essex: McCrimmons, 201

Getting resourced: The Mary Garden - a garden for the spirit

Planting a Mary garden and watching it grow is a source of contemplation and beauty for the whold parish. Maureen Glackin looks at gardening websites with a religious twist

Getting resourced: Heart speaks to heart

Reviews publications on Blessed John Henry Newman, St Therese of Lisieux and St John Vianni