Sports Chaplaincy Conferences GB

SCUK England South 2nd October 2025 – The Kia Oval - Surrey County Cricket Club SE11 5SS (10am – 4pm) 
SCUK England North 9th October 2025 – Headingley Stadium, Headingley, Leeds LS6 3BR (10am – 4pm) 

Registration coming soon....

Sex, Drugs and the Chaplain’s role

We can all recognise that physical activity and sport provide a positive contribution to our lives and our well-being. It can be a means of enhancing not only our physical well-being but also a way of supporting our mental health. As a society we are committed to getting people more active and to engaging in activity and movement that can have a real impact on the quality of life. Professional sport gives us opportunities to aspire and be motivated by those who inspire us, through their commitment and dedication to their discipline.

However, there is another side that we shall explore at this conference. Sport can become very addictive and can often lead to other addictions. It is often the case that those with addictive personalities can lead on to engaging in other addictions.

In our time together we shall explore some of those addictions, including body image, drugs and gambling, all of which you may have encountered in your work as a Chaplain in pastoral conversations. We shall hear from both experts and those with lived experience of these addictions and equip ourselves as Chaplains to understand and know how to respond appropriately in support of those who we might be working with. We shall challenge ourselves to understand our own addictions and what motivates us in our ministry and daily lives.

We are reminded in Hebrews 12 v1-3 (NRSV) of both the need to run the race but also to throw off all that weighs us down. “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the sake of the joy that was set before him endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God”.

We look forward to seeing you at the conference as we explore together.