Welcome to our 2023 Conference, ‘Communicating Spiritual Care – Exploration, Expression and Delivery’.
Conference Videos and Presentations
This year’s videos of the presentations can be found on our YouTube channel here and via the links below.
Session 1 Keith Morrison, Setting the Scene, Video
Session 2 Kei Okada, Awakening the Chaplain’s Creativity, Video, Presentation
Session 3 Ewan Kelly, Reflective Soulwork, Video, Presentation
Session 4, Steve Radley, When words are not enough, Video
Session 7, Jill Thornton, Lessons from the Pandemic, Video, Presentation
Snapshot 1, Steve Radley Soulful vision, Video, Presentation
Snapshot 3, Lucyann Ashdown, Dissertation research, Video
Last year’s and earlier presentations remain available under ‘Previous AHPCC conferences, 2010-2022’ or ‘AHPCC UK’ on YouTube.
Conference Poster
Conference Invitation
Conference Programme
Conference Booking Form
AGM Notification
Minutes from the 2022 AGM
AGM Agenda
Speaker Profiles
Kei Okada
Kei Okada is a Retired Board Certified Chaplain under BCCI (Association of Professional Chaplains), an Associate of Columbia University Seminar on Death, and a Board member of The National Widowers’ Association.
He worked for 15.5 years at Visiting Nurse Service of New York Hospice and Palliative Care where he supervised spiritual care counsellors and developed staff education on integrating holistic spiritual care into their clinical practice.
Kei retired from his position as Program manager, End-of-Life Spiritual Care in the end of 2021, and he is currently writing his first book for Igaku-Shoin Ltd, Tokyo, on the humanity of palliative care and caregivers’ support and communication with those who are facing death. His “mystical” focus in recent workshops and writings in U.S. and Japan has been on awakening creativity in inter-sensory & intra/inter-personal end-of-life consciousness and communication.
Kathryn Lord
Kathryn is co-founder of OutoftheBox and is a spiritual accompanier and retreat leader.
She has a past career as a secondary school teacher, and as a trainer for Godly Play®UK, during which time she established Stories for the Soul (relational care through story and play for older adults, including those living with dementia).
Living in Sheffield, Kathryn enjoys wild swimming and sharing stories of life around a firepit.
Ewan Kelly
Ewan Kelly is currently a lecturer in healthcare chaplaincy at the University of Glasgow. He has spent of most of his working life in healthcare chaplaincy as practitioner, researcher, educator and strategic leader as well as being a university teacher. Ewan has published widely in the sphere of pastoral and spiritual care. His latest publication with John Swinton being Kelly, E. and Swinton, J. (eds) (2020) Chaplaincy and the soul of health and social care: fostering spiritual wellbeing in emerging paradigms of care. London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers. Ewan is looking forward to retiring shortly to enjoy the Scottish hills and coastline, play golf badly, visit art museums and listen to more live music with a beer in his hand.
Steve Radley
Stephen Radley is an Anglican priest, professional photographer and members ambassador for the Guild of Photographers. A military veteran he found healing from his military experiences through photography and in 2021 was awarded the Amateur Photographer Magazine Unsung Hero Award.
Growing up in the Lake District Steve has a love of the outdoors, fell walking and water sports, and volunteers as a Sailability ‘buddy’ sailor (sailing alongside people with disabilities). Before ordination Steve worked in agriculture, business finance and served on the Lee Abbey Community. After ordination he served his curacy in Derby and then joined the RAF as a commissioned chaplain. His experience of war has left him with a passion to help people find peace by seeing in new ways. This desire saw Steve pioneer a new direction in his ministry using image to promote resilience and build relationships through his organisation, Soulful Vision.
Steve is a doctoral student in practical theology, researching healing after trauma through photography, has a BTh (hons) in theology, holds a MSc in Psychiatry & War and certificates in counselling and MHFA. He has personal experience of mental health having suffered from both depression, anxiety and moral injury, the latter following his last deployment to Afghanistan. Soulful Vision brings together this study and experience.
Jill Thornton
Jill leads a Pastoral Care and Chaplaincy team at the Phyllis Tuckwell Hospice in Farnham.
Previously she worked in theatre before becoming ordained in 2001. Jill’s interest in the arts, combined with a commitment to person centred pastoral care led to her completing a PhD exploring rites of passage and contemporary rituals in 2016.
In her free time Jill aspires to play the cello like Jacqueline du Pré, run like Laura Muir, and express her creativity as beautifully as Frida Kahlo!
Awen Clement
Awen is an independent priest and spiritual care practitioner rooted in the Pagan faith tradition.
She has worked in end of life care and funerals for the last five years offering interfaith and inclusive support to people and their families on their journeys with death, dying and grief.
In 2021 she was named Minister of the Year (Any Religion) in the Green Funeral Awards.
Rosie Deedes – Conference Chaplain
After working as a full-time Anglican chaplain in prisons, a university and a hospice for over twenty years, I became self-employed in 2020.
I am now trained as a pastoral supervisor and offer face-to-face or online support to people in any kind of vocational ministry, including other chaplains. I follow the APSE (Association for Pastoral Supervisors and Educators) code of practice and I am currently working towards accreditation.
I am also a writer. My first book Into the depths; a chaplain’s reflections on death, dying and pastoral care – was published by Sacristy Press in 2019. I am currently working on a novel and a narrative non-fiction.
I run two groups a week teaching meditation, relaxation and simple body practices for self-care and wellbeing. I trained with Capacitar (which means to empower). It is an international non-profit organisation which teaches trauma healing practices to individuals and communities around the world. I live in Ventnor on the Isle of Wight.
About The Hayes Conference Centre
Site Plan
Travel directions
Covid precautions