Book Review: A Floating Parish

A Floating Parish

by Will Sweeney

Bookvault Publishing, 2023. £6.99 (Waterstones)

Review by Linda Parker

In this informative, honest, and sometimes funny book, Will Sweeney describes the first years of his time as a Royal Naval Chaplain. His training and first deployment were complicated by the Covid pandemic, which resulted in complications and added pressure on his first months in the navy.

The book gives very clear accounts of training as a chaplain in the modern navy and Will is honest about his doubts and problems and the power of prayer to allay them. He describes the role of the chaplains as the friend and advisor of all on board and the developing of good relationship with officers and ratings.

A particularly insightful chapter “Once you say goodbye it’s time to say hello” examines the deployment cycle and the emotional tensions of departing and the problems that sometimes surface on returning. Once he understood this and had experienced it himself, Will was able to be of a deeper pastoral support to men and women caught up in the cycle of leaving and returning to their families.

A theme that emerges strongly is the benefits of experiencing, both in training and on deployment, exactly what everyone else is suffering. Spending Christmas in isolation with a “cold Christmas dinner in Styrofoam” brought home to him the true nature of incarnational theology.

A section I found fascinating was “When your home is a warship”, which goes into detail about ship board routines, the various departments of the ship, daily orders, naval etiquette, the different messes, RAS routines, comms setups and what happens, in these days of instant communication media, when there is bad news from on board for families or vice versa.

The possibilities and opportunities for the chaplain’s ministry on board and on shore are thoroughly described, dealing with such issues as advising command, common pastoral issues, kinforming and what happens in preparation for war.

The sense of vocation and reliance on God is strong throughout the book, and Will seems to have mainly taken to life as a naval chaplain like the proverbial duck to water.

The book is a must for those thinking of becoming a naval chaplain, but also will be of great interest to those interested in the modern Royal Navy and the Role of Naval chaplaincy within it.

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