• Latest
  • Trending
  • All
  • News
  • Business
  • Lifestyle
Derek Timms, a chaplain, was told he could not wear his cross pin.

New Minister Threatens 73-Year-Old Chaplain for Refusing to Take Off ‘Offensive’ Cross, Then Things Take a Radical Turn

December 24, 2022
Joe Biden Diagnosed With ‘Aggressive’ Prostate Cancer

Joe Biden Diagnosed With ‘Aggressive’ Prostate Cancer

May 18, 2025
Tariffs Will Likely Lead To Price Increases, Bessent Says

Tariffs Will Likely Lead To Price Increases, Bessent Says

May 18, 2025
Pope Leo XIV Condemns ‘Religious Propaganda’ in First Mass

Pope Leo XIV Condemns ‘Religious Propaganda’ in First Mass

May 18, 2025
There’s A New Law Firm In Washington. It Wants To Take All The Cases Liberals Hate

There’s A New Law Firm In Washington. It Wants To Take All The Cases Liberals Hate

May 18, 2025
‘Crime Against This Republic’: CNN’s Van Jones Says Dems Will ‘Pay For A Long Time’ For Biden Cover-Up

‘Crime Against This Republic’: CNN’s Van Jones Says Dems Will ‘Pay For A Long Time’ For Biden Cover-Up

May 18, 2025
Hillary Clinton Appears To Have Learned Nothing From 2016 ‘Basket Of Deplorables’ Remark

Hillary Clinton Appears To Have Learned Nothing From 2016 ‘Basket Of Deplorables’ Remark

May 18, 2025
2 Confirmed Dead As Mexican Ship Hits Brooklyn Bridge 

2 Confirmed Dead As Mexican Ship Hits Brooklyn Bridge 

May 18, 2025
‘Loyal’ Ex-Biden Aide Says Jill Biden’s Strategy Is Making Things Worse

‘Loyal’ Ex-Biden Aide Says Jill Biden’s Strategy Is Making Things Worse

May 18, 2025
Fox News Guest Says AOC Walked Out On Her Question During Bronx Town Hall

Fox News Guest Says AOC Walked Out On Her Question During Bronx Town Hall

May 18, 2025
1 Dead in Fertility Clinic Explosion

1 Dead in Fertility Clinic Explosion

May 17, 2025
LARRY PROVOST: Reopening Alcatraz Is A Brilliant Idea

LARRY PROVOST: Reopening Alcatraz Is A Brilliant Idea

May 17, 2025
Newsom Looks To Extend Carbon Cap Policy, Fund Rail Boondoggle As Possible Gas Crisis Looms

Newsom Looks To Extend Carbon Cap Policy, Fund Rail Boondoggle As Possible Gas Crisis Looms

May 17, 2025
  • Donald Trump
  • State of the Union
  • Elon Musk
  • Tariffs
  • Congress
  • Faith
  • Immigration
Sunday, May 18, 2025
  • Login
IJR
  • Politics
  • US News
  • Commentary
  • World News
  • Faith
  • Latest Polls
No Result
View All Result
IJR
No Result
View All Result
Home FaithTap

New Minister Threatens 73-Year-Old Chaplain for Refusing to Take Off ‘Offensive’ Cross, Then Things Take a Radical Turn

by Western Journal
December 24, 2022 at 8:16 pm
in FaithTap
247 5
0
Derek Timms, a chaplain, was told he could not wear his cross pin.

Derek Timms, a chaplain, was told he could not wear his cross pin. (@CConcern / Twitter screen shot)

491
SHARES
1.4k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

U.K. Chaplain Derek Timms found purpose and meaning in being a part of the staff of the Marie Curie Hospice in Solihull, England.

Truly he would have been well equipped to minister to those in the hospice care center, given the fact he knew one of the most painful losses a person can ever experience — the passing of his wife.

The 73-year-old former businessman experienced that loss in early 2022.

Since Timms is a Christian chaplain, he liked to wear a cross, according to Christian Concern.

For him, it was both a symbol of his faith and a memorial to his late wife and their Christian marriage.

Is wearing a cross offensive?

Marie Curie has unreservedly apologised to a Christian chaplain after he was told he would face ‘consequences’ and would need ‘re-training’ if he did not remove a small badge pin with a cross on it from his jumper.https://t.co/SMShaqq5pN pic.twitter.com/PzwVKRGCtr

— Christian Concern (@CConcern) November 28, 2022


So Timms would wear a small cross necklace as well as a tiny cross pin that was attached to his badge.

This particular cross pin, which was all of approximately a half-inch, contained some of his late wife’s ashes, according to Christian Today.

Timms had been working for Marie Curie Hospice in Solihull for about four years, and no one ever complained about either the necklace or the pin.

Then in September, the hospice center made a change to the chaplaincy program, stating that the chaplains would be referred to as “spiritual advisors.”

A new Methodist minister was hired to oversee the program, and after meeting with Timms, sent him an e-mail in which she expressed “surprise” that he was wearing crosses.

She asked him to “refrain” from wearing them so as to prevent anyone from being “offended.”

Her rationale was that people in the spiritual advisor program should, “appear neutral, and that enables a spiritual encounter that is about what the person we are visiting needs.”

Timms replied to the email, wanting to know why crosses are prohibited when his purpose for wearing one was that he wanted to show people that he’s a Christian chaplain.

He went on to ask if Sikhs with turbans and Muslims wearing a burqua or prayer dress were prohibited from wearing their religious expressions of their faith.

Timms further stated, “My faith helps me to help the patients and staff whether they have faith or not. I assume that on Tuesday if I am wearing my cross I will be sent home.”

The Methodist minister suggested that he could keep his crosses in his pocket if he wanted to, but he could not display them outwardly.

She claimed that a cross was an affront to a “code of conduct” form, which he should have signed in connection to being a part of the organization, and that if he could not comply, that he’d need some, “re-training.”

Timms searched the website, policy documents and even the NHS website and found no such policy.

He ended up being forced out of the organization, turning in his ID badge, and soliciting the assistance of the Christian Legal Center in the U.K.

They referred the matter to the Marie Curie regional head office, who apologized.

The regional head office issued a response to Timms that read: “I can confirm that currently we have neither an organisational or uniform policy that would support our recent request to remove your cross while supporting patients and families in the Hospice. I apologize unreservedly for the distress that we have caused.”

Timms said he welcomes and appreciates the apology, but decided that his work as a chaplain “now lies elsewhere.”

Chief Executive of the Christian Legal Center, Andrea Williams released a statement in which she acknowledged that Timms showed “great courage by refusing to cave into the significant pressure to remove what mattered so much to him.”

She went on to encourage other chaplaincy “teams and leaders across the U.K. to not be ashamed of the Christian faith, but to uphold and cherish the crucial role Christian chaplains play in supporting people at the most vulnerable moments in their lives.”

This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.

Tags: faithMarriageMuslimsprayerworld news
Share196Tweet123
Western Journal

Western Journal

Advertisements

Top Stories June 10th
Top Stories June 7th
Top Stories June 6th
Top Stories June 3rd
Top Stories May 30th
Top Stories May 29th
Top Stories May 24th
Top Stories May 23rd
Top Stories May 21st
Top Stories May 17th

Join Over 6M Subscribers

We’re organizing an online community to elevate trusted voices on all sides so that you can be fully informed.





IJR

    Copyright © 2024 IJR

Trusted Voices On All Sides

  • About Us
  • GDPR Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Service
  • Editorial Standards & Corrections Policy
  • Subscribe to IJR

Follow Us

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Politics
  • US News
  • Commentary
  • World News
  • Faith
  • Latest Polls

    Copyright © 2024 IJR

Top Stories June 10th Top Stories June 7th Top Stories June 6th Top Stories June 3rd Top Stories May 30th Top Stories May 29th Top Stories May 24th Top Stories May 23rd Top Stories May 21st Top Stories May 17th