David and Shirley Pickering reflect on their time serving as Shopping Centre Chaplains at Brisbane’s Cleveland Plaza.
The past 5 years have gone by pretty fast. Shirley and I thought we would like to capture our thoughts around this vital community ministry. Here are my reflections to start.
David Pickering
Through my daily interactions, pastoral conversations, and long-term community engagement, the community chaplaincy model demonstrated to me the profound impact a consistent, authentic, and faith-grounded presence in public spaces has for community impact.
1. Introduction
Community chaplaincy is an emerging form of pastoral care that places chaplains directly within the rhythms of everyday life. Unlike institutional chaplaincy, which typically operates in hospitals, prisons, or schools, community chaplains work among the general public—often in settings such as shopping centres, neighbourhood hubs, and community precincts.
The Cleveland Shopping Plaza is the home to major retailers became the centre of such a ministry. Through a formal proposal and subsequent endorsement by plaza management, this chaplaincy initiative became a sustained presence that has now influenced staff, shoppers, seniors, and local families alike.
2. Establishing Presence in the Marketplace
The first major lesson learned is the power of authentic presence. When the chaplaincy service first launched, the response from plaza management and the public was overwhelmingly positive. Staff expressed appreciation for the sense of peace, support, and stability the chaplain provided. Members of the public frequently offered gestures of kindness—including one woman who continues to bring a morning tea coffee as her personal way of expressing gratitude.
This illustrates a core principle of community chaplaincy: People respond to real, sincere care.
Artificiality or pretense is quickly detected. In contrast, genuineness builds trust, and trust opens doors to meaningful pastoral encounters.
3. Ministry Through Everyday Encounters
Daily interactions became opportunities for pastoral care, encouragement, and connection. Regular groups—such as seniors arriving from retirement villages and nursing homes, or the Tuesday morning Blue Care bus group—formed a network of familiar faces who came to rely on the chaplain’s presence.
One particularly memorable moment involved a birthday celebration for an elderly shopper. The plaza community spontaneously gathered to sing Happy Birthday, demonstrating how pastoral presence helps nurture a sense of belonging in otherwise ordinary public spaces.
The lesson is clear: Community chaplaincy transforms routine environments into spaces of human warmth, dignity, and celebration.
4. Sensitivity, Prayer, and Respect
Another critical learning has been the importance of prayer. When praying with individuals in the plaza, discretion is paramount. The chaplain keeps eyes open, and ensures the individual feels safe and unembarrassed.
This approach has allowed prayer to remain a deeply personal yet publicly appropriate form of support. Over the years, many individuals have even welcomed chaplaincy visits in their homes or aged-care facilities, leading some to come to faith in their final months or weeks of life.
Lesson: Effective chaplaincy requires both courage and cultural sensitivity, combining spiritual conviction with emotional intelligence.
5. Collaboration With Community Groups
Partnerships have amplified the chaplaincy impact. One notable collaboration has been with The Circle of Men, a group dedicated to supporting residents in aged-care facilities. Through this partnership, weekly visits to nursing homes deepened pastoral relationships and opened doors for further ministry.
One result was a man coming to faith during a particularly challenging chapter of his life as he cared for his wife with dementia. The chaplain’s role included supporting him through long travel days, emotional strain, and complex family dynamics.
Lesson: Community chaplaincy flourishes through collaboration. Partnerships extend reach, strengthen trust, and create continuity of care.
6. The Role of Prayer and Church Support
Behind the scenes, the chaplaincy was consistently supported by church prayer teams. Weekly intercession played an essential role, especially given the unpredictability of daily encounters. This spiritual foundation became vital during significant transitions—such as a major management change within the plaza.
Although it was initially feared that new management might require the chaplaincy service to restart or withdraw, the opposite occurred. After reviewing reports, they endorsed the ministry and encouraged its continuation.
Lesson: Sustained prayer and clear reporting build credibility and spiritual strength for long-term chaplaincy.
7. Long-Term Impact and Legacy Moments
Perhaps one of the most significant indicators of chaplaincy effectiveness is its long-lasting impact. Years after moments of crisis or pastoral support, families still return with words of thanks. One family, whose son passed away in palliative care sixteen years ago, continues to express gratitude for earlier chaplaincy support during a season of grief and emotional strain.
These stories highlight a vital truth: Community chaplaincy creates legacy moments—encounters remembered for decades because they occurred at life’s most vulnerable intersections.
8. Conclusion: The Calling to Be Present and Available
Reflecting on the cumulative lessons of this chaplaincy journey, one guiding metaphor stands out:
“Being out there with the people is like fishing—you never know who you’re going to get to meet and greet”.
Community chaplaincy requires readiness, flexibility, and unwavering trust in God’s leading. The role is not defined by formal structures or predictable routines but by the willingness to be present—faithfully, consistently, and compassionately—wherever people gather, shop, socialise, and struggle.
The story of the Cleveland Plaza demonstrates that God is at work in everyday public spaces. He places chaplains where they are uniquely needed, equips them to love sincerely, and uses them to bring comfort, connection, and hope.
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Shirley Pickering
Shirley shares the key lessons learned through five years of service as a Life Bridge Community Chaplain. Drawing on practical experience ministering in Cleveland’s Plaza shopping centre, the reflections highlight the challenges of loneliness, the importance of Spirit-led listening, the growing need for community support, and the continuing relevance of the Church’s dual call to evangelism and social care. These insights offer guidance for chaplains, ministry leaders, and community organisations seeking to engage meaningfully with people in contemporary public spaces.
1. Introduction
Marking an anniversary of chaplaincy service provides an opportunity to pause and acknowledge both the difficulty and the privilege of pioneering ministry. Community chaplaincy requires hard work, sacrifice, consistency, and a deep sense of God’s calling. Yet through all of these, God remains faithful.
As a Life Bridge Community Chaplain, the calling is clear: to open people’s understanding of Jesus’ saving grace and to demonstrate His love through genuine presence, compassion, and attentive care.
These reflections summarise what has been learned along the way—lessons shaped by real encounters and the lived experiences of people who visit, work, or pass through the Cleveland community.
2. Loneliness in a Connected Age
One of the most confronting observations throughout chaplaincy work is the pervasiveness of loneliness. Today, one in three people experience loneliness, and one in four report severe loneliness.
This reality is particularly striking given that we live in a world more technologically connected than any previous generation. Yet digital connectivity has not translated into emotional wellbeing.
Lesson: Human beings still need face-to-face connection, empathy, and the reassurance of being seen and valued.
Life Bridge chaplains play a vital role in bridging this gap. For many individuals, it is easier to speak honestly with a compassionate stranger than with someone they know. Chaplains provide a safe and non-judgmental space for people to express their fears, burdens, and stories.
3. Trust, Respect, and the Ministry of Availability
Another consistent lesson has been recognising the level of silent trust and respect extended by shopping centre management and the community. Their support—sometimes expressed, often unspoken—reflects the relief they feel knowing that someone is present who cares, listens, and has time.
Chaplains often become the stabilising presence in an environment where people face crises, anxiety, ageing challenges, and family breakdowns.
Lesson: Being reliably present communicates care more powerfully than any program or strategy.
4. Listening to the Holy Spirit
One of the greatest personal challenges in chaplaincy is discerning what the Holy Spirit is prompting in each interaction. As people share their stories—loneliness, grief, heartache, confusion—there is the natural impulse to speak quickly. Yet the deeper work happens when chaplains slow down and listen for God’s guidance.
Lesson: The most important words spoken to a person are the ones the Holy Spirit leads us to say.
This discipline requires spiritual attentiveness and humility. It also shapes the chaplain’s posture: listening first, speaking second, and ministering from God’s wisdom rather than personal instinct.
5. Understanding Community Resources
While chaplains offer emotional and spiritual support, they are not always the complete answer to a person’s needs. The Cleveland area has revealed how many individuals—especially the elderly—are unaware of the practical help available to them.
Many do not know how to navigate government portals, aged-care entry points, or local support services. Simply knowing about tools like My Aged Care, or having familiarity with emergency services, social agencies, and health networks, can equip chaplains to guide people effectively.
Lesson: A chaplain’s effectiveness increases when they also understand the community’s practical support systems.
6. The Church’s Dual Mission: Evangelism and Social Care
A broader reflection emerges when viewing chaplaincy through the lens of church history. In the early church, as seen in the book of Acts, evangelism and social care were inseparable. Believers were commissioned not only to make disciples, but to care for one another—materially, emotionally, and spiritually.
As government took over many welfare responsibilities, the church’s active role in social care waned. Yet today, governments everywhere struggle to meet rising needs, particularly in aged care. This raises an important question:
Could the Church once again reclaim its historic role of caring for people while sharing the gospel?
Chaplaincy is one avenue where this integration is already reappearing.
For further exploration, the book The One-Sided Church argues that neither evangelism nor social care should exist alone—they belong together in a healthy expression of Christian mission.
7. Navigating Difficult People With Grace
Not every encounter is gentle or easy. Chaplains regularly meet individuals who are distressed, aggressive, mentally unwell, or emotionally unpredictable. Learning how to navigate these situations without fear or frustration is essential.
Lesson: Grace, patience, and strong boundaries are key to engaging difficult people without losing compassion.
Many difficult individuals are also deeply wounded. Although some never initiate conversation with the chaplain, they watch closely—observing behaviour, evaluating sincerity, and quietly weighing their own response to God.
And often, without us knowing, their conscience is stirred and their heart is opened.
8. The Invisible Ministry of God’s Presence
Perhaps the most profound lesson is understanding that chaplains carry the presence of God into every conversation and environment. It is the Holy Spirit—not the chaplain’s effort—that ultimately unlocks hearts.
Chaplains may never fully know what God is doing inside a person. Many walk away without visible change. But ministry is not measured in immediate outcomes; it is measured in faithfulness.
Lesson: In community chaplaincy, trust the unseen work of God. We plant seeds—He brings the growth.
9. Conclusion
Serving as a Life Bridge Community Chaplain is both a privilege and a responsibility. It involves stepping into people’s pain, noticing the overlooked, and being a steady light in ordinary public spaces. The lessons learned—about loneliness, trust, Spirit-led listening, difficult conversations, and the enduring mission of the Church—highlight the ongoing need for chaplains in our cities and communities.
This ministry often unfolds quietly, without applause or recognition. Yet it leaves a deep and lasting imprint. And for every person who walks away, sometimes silently, there remains a deep appreciation for the presence of someone who cared.
God is faithful, and His work continues—one conversation, one prayer, one act of compassion at a time.
