Episode 6 Chaplains: Angels of Mersey

Chaplains are modern-day disciples.

-Ta-daa!

-Yaaay!

Who would like chopsticks?

Excuse me, are you Jewish?

Have you got any Jewish pals here?

Salaam alaikum.

They take the word of God out of the church

and into the places we work and play.

When the wheels fall off, that's when people pray.

They're employed in our hospitals and universities,

at the football ground, on the street.

Tonight, keeping alive the memories of children who will never be forgotten.

We're all here for the same reason, every single one of us.

So, we know we're not on our own.

And the chaplain praying for an Everton win.

The football's got something to do with the church,

and above all, the church and religion has something to do with football.

We're following chaplains in the city of Liverpool,

the work they do and the people's lives they touch.

Goodison Park is the home of top football club, Everton.

Harry Ross, a retired vicar and passionate Evertonian,

is the club's chaplain.

For Harry, this place is more than just a football ground.

Goodison Park is Harry's church.

Well, of course, once you've become a supporter of any club,

it's a marvellous feeling.

And then to be invited to become chaplain to that club,

well, of course, it fulfils all your hopes and dreams,

because you get closer to the people that are working here,

you get close to the fans, because you know

what they're going through, you know what they're thinking,

you know what they're feeling, and it's an empathy.

Thousands of Blues supporters are arriving for today's match.

Harry is there to meet and greet his congregation of fellow fans.

All right?

'Everything about me is Blue, except my language, of course.'

How are you? All right?

Harry is well known amongst the fans,

spreading the word of God through his love of the game.

The church and the football ground

have blended in together and we've shown

that they are part and parcel of life

and that the football's got something to do with the church,

and above all, the church and religion has something to do with the football.

Chaplains are often called on to help people through bereavement.

At Alder Hey Children's Hospital,

supporting families who've lost children

is an important part of the chaplain's role.

The music we're changing as well, cos again,

we've had Precious Child for the last two years,

so this is Leona Lewis singing Footprints In The Sand.

I'll do both of them, then.

The children who didn't make it through treatment are never forgotten here.

Today, chaplains Dave Williams and Caroline Ferguson

are planning the annual remembrance service.

Then the final hymn, we're sticking with,

I think, One More Step Along The Road I Go,

-cos it's a good hymn of hope and looking to the future.

-Yes, it is.

Hayley Jones is one of the bereaved parents who stayed in touch

with Alder Hey's chaplains.

Her son, Ellis, was born with a heart defect,

and died at the hospital when he was ten months old.

I know that I'm close to him here.

Very special place.

We call it Ellis's little garden,

cos I don't like the word "cemetery".

We always make sure it's very pretty and bright.

Cos he liked bright colours.

And this is from Alder Hey.

It's what he used to play with.

I remember when he first passed away.

I wanted to have a bed at the side of him so he wouldn't be on his own.

Then we put these lights up because he always had a light on at home.

And I didn't want him being in the dark.

Ellis actually came through an operation

which I don't think had ever been done on one so small before,

and it was an absolute miracle.

And he was actually due to be discharged on,

I think, the Wednesday, and on Saturday morning he just died.

And they were obviously devastated, we all were,

but I can't imagine what it was like for them.

And we'd become, I think, close, as family and friends,

and I think that was why they asked me to take Ellis's funeral,

which was a huge privilege.

And I took that over in Glossop for them

and met all the family there and got to know them really well,

and then supported them during the time after,

in that difficult time.

You never expect, as a parent, to have to go through the pain

and seeing your child fight for his life.

What we had to see Ellis go through.

Ellis had six cardiac arrests, and we seen all six of them.

And it still haunts us to this day. It's like noises.

You can still hear the noise - well, I can -

from the machine that goes off when they're going into an arrest.

I'll never forget on the Friday, after he'd had his arrest,

he was on that much sedation,

and I remember the nurses saying he wouldn't wake up.

And I remember he woke up, didn't he?

And he grabbed my hand.

And he pulled it to his chest, and that was last time...

..the last time he woke up, wasn't it?

And then he closed his eyes.

It was the last time we seen him awake.

The hardest decision I've ever had to make was...

when they were trying to resuscitate him the last time.

Hayley couldn't, but they had to have one of us to agree to stop.

But then it was effectively ending his life,

and for a while...

I thought...I felt guilty, cos I ended his life.

But there was nothing he could do. to pull himself round.

It was just the worse day of our life, wasn't it?

The worst day, the worst...

some of the worst sights that no-one should ever have to see.

Chris and Hayley have suffered more than their fair share of tragedy.

They nearly lost their second son, Harley, after he caught meningitis.

It left him with disabilities.

Now Hayley's pregnant again,

but there's a chance the new baby will be born with heart problems.

The nightmare, it's just horrible,

that I can't go through losing another child to a heart condition.

And nobody can say for sure that it isn't going to happen again,

so in my mind, it's going to happen again.

And until somebody tells me different,

I will keep thinking that, that it's going to happen again.

In a week's time, a special scan

will reveal what the future holds for their unborn child.

If there is going to be a problem...

I don't know how life could be so cruel, but hopefully...

..it'll be third time lucky kind of thing,

that we'll have a normal, healthy baby from day one

and it will go from strength to strength.

Harry's in touch with over 200 former team members

in and around the city.

Today, he's visiting a Merseyside footballing icon.

Well, we're going over to see Dave Hickson.

Dave Hickson is a massive legend,

not just at Everton but of the whole of Merseyside.

His great boast is that he would break every bone in his body

for any team that he played for, but he'd die for Everton.

'As a football chaplain,

'if you are a football supporter as well, you can bring

'the Christian message into what you're doing just by being yourself

'and letting Christ shine through you.'

-How are you, OK?

-Yes, thank you.

Great to see you, Dave.

82-year-old Dave Hickson was a soccer superstar in the '50s,

a time when a top footballer's wage was just £20 a week.

This, then, is our forecast of the 1955 Wembley finalists.

'Widely fancied, along with Preston, for soccer showpiece

'are the men of Merseyside, Everton.

'Key man behind their attack is fair-haired centre forward, Dave Hickson.

'For months now he has been hitting the goals and the headlines.'

What's the best goal you've ever scored?

Oh, dear me, that's going back.

There was a gale force wind blowing from your church to the corner flag.

And I took it and hit it towards where your church is.

-Yeah.

-And the wind blew it back, and I headed it in.

-From there, off my own...

-Off your own corner?

-Yeah.

-Amazing.

-It was that windy.

-Yeah.

'For Dave Hickson of the goal scorching feet

'is the man who can help take Everton to that peak

'of the soccer season - the Cup Final.'

How did you feel when you had to hang your boots up?

Terrible, really.

In fact, I didn't, did I? I carried on and on and on till I was 77.

I know.

-OK, Dave.

-Yeah, thanks for coming, Harry.

-Look after yourself, Dave.

-Thanks very much.

-Thanks for everything.

-OK.

And you give me a shout if there's anything we can do,

-and I'll see you at the match.

-I'll see you at the match.

'You're here as a chaplain to be there, to listen, to help,'

and to be a safety net for anyone who needs you, anyone.

Whether they're Christians, non-Christians, don't care,

don't understand, but you're there.

And because you're a football supporter, they trust you.

When I had a heart attack, I couldn't help for anything.

He done everything for me, you know?

Went up to the hospital, Bill took me to the ambulance,

and Harry was at the hospital when I was there, when I got there, you know?

And every day he's come, you know, bar when he was busy, you know.

He's come to see me.

Unbelievable.

Hayley and Chris have travelled to St Mary's Hospital in Manchester.

Today, a special scan will show

whether their unborn child has inherited a heart defect.

The same one that took away the life of their first.

Hayley's parents have come along to give them support.

Alder Hey heart specialist Dr Gordon Gladman

will carry out the scan.

So, in terms of Hayley with her foetus,

we'll be looking purely for, are there four parts to the heart,

the blood vessels coming out from the heart,

the blood vessels going into the heart,

any evidence of leaky valves, the function of the heart,

generally a checklist, making sure that everything

seems OK with baby's heart.

So, fingers crossed it's all going to be OK.

Back at Alder Hey hospital,

Chaplain Dave Williams is praying for good news.

I just don't know how they have coped, really.

I think they're wonderful, they're a wonderful family, and they're a close family.

I suppose, in some ways, they've been through so much sadness

it'll be lovely to have that joy, to be able to enjoy this little one.

We just pray that he'll be well and strong.

On Merseyside, football is like a religion.

Everton chaplain Harry Ross is often asked to bury the ashes

of deceased fans close to the hallowed turf.

The first question you get in this city is, "Who do you support?"

And that, of course, is either Everton or Liverpool.

And it becomes so much part of their life that, when they've passed on,

it's right that they think, "Let's continue to be associated with the club."

Fans have had their favourite places where they used to stand

and the ashes have gone in as near to that as we can possibly put them.

Today, Harry's meeting Mark Melville,

the son of a lifelong Blues supporter.

He wants Goodison Park to be his father's final resting place.

-Hi. Mark. Nice to meet you.

-Yes.

-Sorry it's such circumstances.

Sorry to hear about your dad.

Mark's father, Tony, died two months ago at the age of 74.

This is where he enjoyed some of the best days of his life.

My dad used to put me over the turnstile.

There's many over the turnstile over the years.

This was the Paddock where we used to stand, round about here.

-It must bring back memories.

-Yeah.

Awe-inspiring, you know. Do you think I'll get into trouble

-if I just touch the pitch?

-No, go on, you're all right.

Yeah.

The ashes will go just behind the main notice board there.

That's my dad with his brother, Chris. I don't know if you remember him.

Oh, yes, the face is familiar.

-How are you feeling about your dad and his...passing?

-Yes.

Are you coming to terms with it?

You never get over it, you just learn to come to terms with it.

You just think that you're never going to see him again.

Then you get a bit, you know...

-But you will, because that's the Christian message - you WILL see him again.

-Yeah.

What was the last game he saw?

The Chelsea game, last game of the season.

At St Mary's Hospital in Manchester, Hayley is about to have her scan.

Down you go, make yourself comfortable.

It's the moment of truth for Hayley and Chris.

The jelly is as cold as ever.

'You close your eyes, thinking that, if you close your eyes, it will go away.

'Just wait then for the answer.

'I'll hold Hayley's hand, I'll try not to look at Dr Gladman's face.

'He always says that I squeeze his hand really tight, because I feel like

'then I know that he's there and I'm not on my own if we get the bad news.'

Playing hard to get, your baby.

As you expect.

'If it's going to be bad, it's going to be bad.

'If it's going to be good, it's going to be good.

'Whatever will be, will be,

'but it's just hard sometimes to think like that.'

PULSING

A nice, steady heartbeat.

One of the big blood vessels coming out, nicely developed.

Little heart bobbing away down there.

So, I'm happy. Awkward bits. I haven't seen any.

I think it's important because you are early that we look again

in about four weeks, like we did before.

But in terms of major things, everything's there that should be there.

-Everything is joined up properly. Hopefully you can relax a bit.

-Yes.

-Third time lucky.

-Exactly.

It's nice to know that at this stage,

baby's heart looks normal.

We're not used to having much good luck, so...

any good look we'll take...

with open arms and it's just...

so good to hear someone say your baby's heart's normal.

So far, the future for Hayley and Chris's third child is positive.

Dave Williams, the chaplain at Alder Hey,

is first to share the couple's good news.

-'Hello.'

-Hi, Dave, it's only me.

-'Hiya, love. How are you?'

I'm all right, thank you. It's just to say that everything went OK.

-'Isn't that wonderful?'

-Yes, Dr...

-'The scan was OK?'

Yes, everything's great. Dr Gladman said everything looks OK.

-'Isn't that brilliant?'

-Yeah.

It's match day at Everton Football Club,

a perfect time to commemorate the life of a devoted Blues fan.

Chaplin Harry Ross is at the memorial garden,

where the service for Tony Melville will be held.

There's a story behind every one of these plaques

and the names on every plaque.

So, we've got people from Canada, we've got people whose ashes

have come from New Zealand, from America, from all over this country,

and the ashes go in here, so they can still be very close

to football, still close to Everton, as well as being close to God.

Family and friends are gathering outside.

Tony's son Mark, his grandson Bo,

and friends Joe and Amanda Jane.

Big Tony and I used to travel to away games before there was any M62.

We used to go round all the little...

-Villages.

-..all the little roads, getting up there.

We used to travel to all the away games, his dad and I, years ago.

His dad would have been delighted with this.

Just a few moments of recollection.

Ones in which I'd ask you to remember Tony,

to remember his life, remember the things that he said and done

which have made you a better person.

And as we stand in this place, let's remember

his connection with Everton,

his love of that football team as we return Tony's ashes to the ground.

-All right, Dad?

-All right, Grandad.

We have entrusted this, our brother Tony, to God's mercy.

We now commit his mortal remains to the ground,

earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust.

Amen. If you'd like to put...?

Beautiful, it couldn't have been better.

I'm feeling a lot better.

A lot better. It's just...

-It's closed now, isn't it?

-Mm.

We've done what we've had to do and he's in the right place. So, yeah.

-So, do you think you'll be coming back here again?

-Yes.

-Yes.

-We'll pay him a visit every now and again.

-Yeah.

-OK, so hopefully it's a good match and if there's anything, give me a ring, let me know.

-OK. Brilliant.

And any time you're down, call and see me next door,

-and keep shouting for the Blues.

-OK.

When I go, I'd like the service in the church in the corner

of the ground where I spent 33 years of my ministry - if Everton would allow

a chaplain's ashes to go here, that's what I want.

Not too soon, of course, but I'd love them to go in here

because my great loves in life - my love of God and my love of Everton Football Club.

Today, the chaplains from Alder Hey Hospital are holding

their annual service of remembrance

for the children who didn't make it through treatment.

The purpose of the service for us is hope and remembering.

Anything, you know, that helps them

to realise that the children are not forgotten, that they're not

on their own in remembering them, that other people still do care.

It's a very, very humbling experience,

walking that kind of dark walk with them.

And it is humbling as to how grateful they are

for someone just to be there,

someone non-clinical, who will just be there for them.

And, I believe, who is not there trying to give them answers,

who's actually prepared to say, "I don't know why this has happened.

"But I do believe there is still hope in this situation,

"there's still light in this darkness."

-How are you?

-OK!

-Good to see you.

-Good to see you.

All right?

Hiya, love. Good to see you.

Look who's here!

-Hello.

-Hello!

Chris and Hayley Jones are here to remember their first son, Ellis,

as they look ahead to the birth of their third child.

Hiya.

All right, Chris. How are you doing, mate? It's good to see you.

She's been sending me updates, saying I should be there,

I will be there, so I think she's only a couple of weeks at the most,

but she's hung on, good girl, so they can come.

It's so special because we've got such an affinity, through Ellis,

and then through this little man as well.

And then hopefully through little Archie when he arrives,

cos we've been asked to christen him.

That's been in the diary for ever for Hayley.

We've done all three of the little ones, bless them.

It's just hard, coming back to Liverpool.

But we're all here for the same reason, so...

Every single one of us. So, we know we're not on our own.

We've come today for this service which rightly is called

Hope and Remembering.

Father, bless all those who we no longer see,

but who are so precious to us and who are safe in your care, we pray,

until we can be with them again. And bless us all and all those who we love.

In the name of Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen.

Thank you so much for coming. It's been a pleasure to see you all.

Oh, he's out for the count.

-Out for the count.

-Yeah!

-So, how long to go?

-Four weeks.

-Four weeks?

-Can't wait.

Isn't that wonderful?

If he's not here by Wednesday then I'll talk about inducing.

-Isn't that wonderful?

-Yes.

People say to us, "How do you do your job?"

And I say, "You must remember,

"we have the happy times as well as sad times."

And you epitomise that.

You had the desperate times of Ellis

and then the news on this little fella.

But you have been through the mill so much.

-Thanks for coming.

-All right, Dave, see you later.

-Keep us informed.

-Will do.

God bless, my little friend.

Bless him.

Just weeks later, Chris and Hayley are celebrating the new beginning

they've been waiting and hoping for.

The safe arrival of their third son.

Archie Philip Jones.

-Philip after your dad, isn't it?

-Yes.

Yeah.

Yeah.

-He suits it as well, doesn't he? Looking at him.

-Seems to.

I can see when Ellis first opened his eyes, when Archie does,

-he looks like Ellis, doesn't he?

-Yeah.

When he opens his eyes.

Which is nice to think, because Harley looks like Ellis as well.

It's nice to think that Ellis will live on

-in our other two children as they grow older.

-Yeah.

-Yeah, our family's complete now, isn't it?

-Absolutely.

-We've always said we wanted three children, and we've got them.

-Yep.

But very...very happy and proud.

Perfect.

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