In the summer of 2002, the idea of a Chaplaincy was sown in a meeting following a town-wide Christian mission in Watford.  The Chaplaincy then came into being with the appointment of a team of Trustees in 2003, chaired by the Revd John Aldis, then Vicar of St Mary’s and including the Revd John Kiddle then vicar of St Luke’s in Watford and Tim Roberts, Minister at Watford Wellspring Church, plus a couple of local Christians.  This was followed by the acquisition of charitable status in December that year.  The first full-time Chaplain was appointed in November 2004 with a three-year plan to build a Chaplaincy Team.  The first Lead Chaplain, Richard Chewter, stayed for over 10 years, with a second full time chaplain, Michael Campbell, to work alongside him appointed in 2008; Michael left a few years later to start a chaplaincy in Luton.  Frances Novillo was appointed Lead Chaplain in 2018 following Richard’s resignation in 2016. David Scourfield then became Lead Chaplain in July 2021 following Frances’ resignation in autumn 2020. David left in 2023 to become a priest in the Church of England. Geert Tap was appointed as full-time Lead Chaplain in April 2023.

The Chaplaincy has always had broad-based support from many different churches within Watford with a central vision of ‘Serving the heart of our town. We want to see the Church express Christ’s love in public and personal ways through the appointment of a team of chaplains, the support of outreach initiatives and the encouragement of workers (and their families) in the workplace.’  That was the original vision which still stands today.

The true value of the Chaplaincy lies in those who volunteer and although numbers are not as high as they were at the peak in 2010-14 we have chaplains based variously in the Town Hall, the Market, a couple of doctors’ surgeries, Watford Palace Theatre, a couple walking along The Parade, the High Street and Market Street, popping into shops along their walk, available to chat with staff and customers; a couple also sit in Pret a Manger, Starbucks and Columbia Press, available to both staff and customers.  We had a chaplain in John Lewis who was available to staff on the day the announcement of the closure and redundancies were made.  We also have a chaplain to atria (formerly intu, formerly Harlequin) who is available to the many staff who work behind the scenes, including cleaners and security staff as well as management.  Chaplains are not counsellors, they don’t offer advice, although they can signpost for further help – but they do offer a listening ear.

In 2005 night-time chaplains, known as Street Angels, offering comfort, support and a listening ear in the busy night time economy, were set up. As Watford town centre grew and changed it was noted that many young people, especially, were coming into Watford on Saturday evenings from surrounding areas for their social life.  A Street Angel rota is usually 10pm to 3am on Saturday nights and on special occasions eg New Year’s Eve and A-level results evening.  Street Angels carry slippers, sick bags, wipes, bottles of water, rain ponchos, small packets of tissues, and foil blankets for colder evenings to hand out.  In 2018 we purchased a minibus which can be driven into the High Street where the Street Angels can be based and seen – it is bright orange! 

Besides Street Angels, other initiatives to have come out of the Chaplaincy have been Christmas Wrap, Eden and God After Dark, although Street Angels is the only one to have stood the test of time.

Until the end of 2019 the Chaplaincy administration had been based in The Cloisters but it is now based in an office within St Mary’s Church just off Watford High Street with a full-time Lead Chaplain, working from there.  WTCC also employs a part-time Administrator based in the office.

When the Covid-19 pandemic came upon us in 2020/2021 we had to change the way of working and Chaplains made contact with their businesses through email and phone calls rather than face-to-face and Street Angels stopped operating as there was no night time socialising. Both the Lead Chaplain and the Administrator worked from their individual homes for fifteen months.

Unfortunately, due to the high cost of running the minibus in insurance, tax and maintenance, in 2022 we decided to no longer use the bus and offered it to a local church who will have more use for it than we can.

Update 2024

Following the shutdown of pubs and clubs during the Covid pandemic, many when they re-opened found that business had fallen and the nightlife in the town centre had changed, and even more so following the closure of Pryzm (a major nightclub in the town centre) early in 2024. Street Angels are having to adapt to these changes and are often now out earlier in the evening (8.00pm to midnight) rather than into the early hours. They are still an important part of Watford nightlife and are much appreciated by the police and Watford Town Centre (formerly BID). They still carry slippers, bottles of water, sick bags, wipes, etc but don’t hand out the number they were pre-pandemic. But one thing that hasn’t changed is their care and concern for those in the town centre, and conversations and prayers continue to be high on the list of actions on a Friday or Saturday night. Our daytime Chaplains continue to offer a listening ear to staff and customers in many shops and businesses in the town centre.