The Mayor’s Chaplain and Spiritual Advisor is chosen by the Mayor and is an honorary title. The role of the Chaplain and Spiritual Advisor is to offer spiritual guidance to the Mayor as and when required and to assist in organising the civic service, other civic occasions and prayers or suitable thoughts for the occasion at council meetings. The Chaplain and Spiritual Advisor is usually seated near to the Mayor at these events.
The Mayor’s Chaplain and Spiritual Advisor can also act as a focal point for religious or faith groups in the area and to advise the Mayor on religious and other matters. The residents of the area will not all be of the same belief and the Mayor’s Chaplain and Spiritual Advisor can explain the differences and similarities of belief and practice. Attending a religious or other service of another faith is the outward show that he or she is the Mayor of all the people and of the right to worship freely. It is therefore important that the support that the Chaplain and Spiritual Advisor gives to the Mayor helps the Mayor to understand and lead all sections of the community.