Getting help from the Church of England with your ghost, spirit or paranormal activity

With an official lack of guidance to help people deal with spirits in their home, or bothering their family, turning to the church can provide comfort for some or be the only avenue left to explore for others.

So how common is it for families to seek help from the church with a ghost problem? Do you have to have faith to do so? And what exactly can the church do.

Chopsy Baby asked the Church of England how families can seek help with an unwanted lodger.  Whilst the Church of England does not publish statistics covering how many approaches are made from families concerned about supernatural activity, they do handle such queries, maintaining confidentiality and minimizing publicity.
 
A Church of England spokesperson said: “People do approach the Church from time to time with questions and requests for help with paranormal phenomena. The Church does not offer an official glossary of definitions of paranormal phenomena. Nevertheless, parish priests are encouraged to listen to each individual request for help in this area, in order to discern how to respond appropriately and pastorally.”

If a parents or family member is worried about ‘spiritual distress’ or paranormal activity affecting them, the Church of England advises that the first port of contact should be the person’s parish priest.

“Concerned parents should feel free to approach their parish priest for advice and help whether they are regular churchgoers or not,” the spokesperson continues. Every diocese is encouraged to appoint a person to respond to enquiries about the paranormal.

The contact details of your local parish priest are usually available on the parish or diocesan website – all contact details can be found via www.churchofengland.org 

The Church of England recommends gathering and recording facts about paranormal activity ‘carefully and accurately’. “In most cases, there is a natural or psychological explanation for what appears to be paranormal. It is worth noting that imaginations, not only of children and young people, but also of mature adults, can be stimulated by programmes, films and other media in which spirits, forces of evil, demons and other frightening characters are vividly portrayed. It is simply common sense to take care to avoid exacerbating fears and over-active imaginations in these ways.”

When a concerned parent or young person first approaches the church for help, the parish priest will ask questions about the situation to decide how best to respond in the most appropriate pastoral way.

The spokesperson explains: “So, in order to help the priest respond appropriately, it can be very helpful when the client has already or, for example in the case of a child or young person the parents or legal guardian, have already made notes of the facts so far as they are aware of them. The type of information which could be helpful includes dates, times, locations and descriptions of activities, including paranormal phenomena or apparitions which are causing concern and the contact details of independent witnesses if there are any: it is also helpful to provide a copy of the notes for the priest to keep.

“It is normal good practice for a parish priest to propose to share information in confidence with other professional colleagues in order to discern the most appropriate response to an enquiry and in order to help the person or people who are concerned or troubled and seeking advice and help.
 
“Praying with people for their needs and protection is often an appropriate way of ministering to them. The parish priest may discern that a normal pastoral visit to the home or place to pray with the people involved and to bless the home might be the right response. However, each enquiry and case is treated individually: the Church offers in the context of Christian ministry, prayer, help and advice for the child/family unit concerned in a particular situation.”
 
For more information or to find the contact details of your local parish priest, visit: www.churchofengland.org

A parish priest should be able to provide people with a copy of prayers especially written for peace and protection. It is also possible to download these prayers directly from the Church of England’s website:
 
http://www.churchofengland.org/prayer-worship/worship/texts/pastoral/healing/protectionpeace.aspx

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