Introducing our new Club Chaplain Jon Butler

Aberystwyth Town FC is delighted to give the opportunity to our new Club Chaplain Jon Butler to introduce himself:

Hello all at Aberystwyth Town FC, I wanted to take a moment of your time to say "Shwmae", introducing myself as the new Club Chaplain to explain a little of my role here and how you can contact me. While I am relatively new to Aber (I moved here in August - do feel free to ask me why when you see me), I have a love of football and want to serve this club and all connected with it. 

As your Club Chaplain my aim is to serve everyone in the club irrespective of position, beliefs or lifestyle. This includes people of faith, or no faith, offering pastoral and spiritual support wherever appropriate. I am here to provide an impartial and confidential point of contact to talk about any matters you may be worried about on or off the pitch, and with the growing awareness of mental health concerns I believe this is a key time for such a role at the club and across the sporting community. Life may often bring the unexpected and challenges to us all, therefore having someone impartial to listen and be a pastoral support can make a real difference to our well-being. This is one of the key ways I look forward to serving the club.

With over 5 years experience in church leadership and 14 years as a Police Officer I've been able to support and pastor many people in many situations. There's not a lot about the ups and downs of life that surprises me! As your chaplain I'm not here to preach, but I am available to give support whenever and wherever it's needed.

You may be interested to know that Sports Chaplaincy UK have 550 Sports Chaplains across the United Kingdom, with 75 specifically in Wales serving Welsh sport. A growing number of Cymru Premier League Clubs now have Chaplains. 

Please do say hello or chat with me when you see me, I will be at most First Team home games and at the club for some midweek training and coaching sessions. If you would like to get in touch with me you can email me at jon@freedomchurch.wales. I am honoured to be undertaking this role, serving the club and all connected with Aberystwyth Town FC. 

​Come on Seasiders!

All the best,
Jon Butler
jon@freedomchurch.wales

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