Keeping the faith: Christian chaplains in the time of Covid

At times of great uncertainty, many people turn to faith leaders for support, but with the current social restrictions, it’s more difficult than ever for ministers to offer pastoral and spiritual care to their congregations.

Photographer Louise Haywood-Schiefer set out to photograph Christian chaplains from churches and institutions around London to discover how they are facing these challenges.

How do you provide comfort and solace to guys who are stuck behind doors for a ridiculous amount of time?

I’ve found that if you make the time, the people you speak to are more open now and there’s more opportunity for that conversation to get deeper and be more meaningful.

It’s been less about just wanting an excuse to get out of the cell, it’s almost like they’ve treated it as a gift and they’ve decided that if I can engage with them, they will engage with me…