Force chaplains offering support

13 May 2020

The Force Multi-Faith Chaplaincy Team will do all it can to support officers, staff and their family members during the Coronavirus crisis, the lead chaplain has promised.

The Reverend John Butcher and the other chaplains are available for anyone – regardless of faith or even if they have no faith - needing someone to talk to.

“Of course, along with everyone else, we are complying with social distancing guidelines but we are at the end of the phone for anyone who needs us and we are also becoming adept at holding Skype meetings,” says John, “We understand that people are feeling anxious at the moment and we want to do whatever we can to support them.

“We are seeing the number of deaths rise nationwide and, sadly, we appreciate it is likely that, as a Force, we may face losing people to this virus or our officers and staff may suffer bereavements within their families or their friendship groups.

“We want to reassure everyone that we are here for them to listen, to offer comfort and to help in any practical way we can. We are also willing to conduct funeral services free of charge on behalf of anyone in the West Midlands Police family.

“At a time when families are going to be hit hard financially due to people losing income, it is going to be difficult for some to find the money to pay for a funeral which can cost a minimum of around £3,000. Within that, there will often be a charge for a minister to conduct the service of £100 to £200 sometimes so this is something where we feel we can help during this time.”

To contact the chaplaincy team you can ring John on 07814 573 067 or email John Butcher and you can find out more about the service on the Force intranet.