What does faith mean to you? – Inter Faith Week 2025
At Pilgrims Hospices, we care for people of all faiths and none, and Inter Faith Week gives us a wonderful opportunity to pause and celebrate the many ways faith can enrich our lives.
Rev’d Cat Darkins, Lead Spiritual Care Chaplain, shares how Pilgrims Hospices accommodates cultural beliefs around death and dying
Faith means different things to each of us. For some, it is rooted in prayer, ritual, or tradition; for others, it shines through in hope, kindness, or a deep belief in community. However we understand it, faith can lift us up, give us strength, and bring comfort during life’s most important moments.
Every day in our hospices, we see how faith helps people find peace and connection – in quiet reflection, in the gentle support of our chaplains, in the beauty of a garden, or simply in the love of family and friends.
“Faith can be a source of strength and comfort, whatever form it takes – whether through a religious practice, a sense of community, or the values we carry in our hearts.“
–Rev’d Cat Darkins, Lead Spiritual Care Chaplain at Pilgrims Hospices
Inter Faith Week reminds us that, though our beliefs may be different, the values at their heart often unite us: love, dignity, compassion, and care for one another.
Together, we can celebrate this shared humanity and the many ways faith, in all its forms, brings light and meaning to our world.
Faith, in every form, is a reminder of the goodness we share.
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Pilgrims Hospices staff share what faith means to them
Visitpilgrimshospices.org/cultureto discover how people across the world respond to and mark death and dying within different cultures.
Each year, Pilgrims Hospices care for thousands of people across east Kent, with services provided from its three hospice sites in Ashford, Canterbury, and Thanet, as well as in patients’ own homes. It costs over £17.2 million annually to run these services, much of which comes from the generous support of the local community.
Avneet’s journey as a junior doctor at Pilgrims Hospices: “Pilgrims enables dignity in death”
At Pilgrims Hospices, specialist palliative care doctors and consultants play a vital role in supporting patients and their families.
They focus on managing and improving the physical symptoms that accompany a variety of life-limiting illnesses, with the broader aim of helping people to live well – in both mind and body – in the time that they have left.
Avneet Kaur Dhandee, a junior doctor from London, completed a placement at the Canterbury hospice in 2025. She shares her experiences, including how her Sikh faith informs her medical practice.
What inspired you to do your training at Pilgrims Hospices?
I’m interested in becoming a GP, with special interests in palliative care and mental health, so I felt a hospice placement would be essential to inform my future career. I’ve gained immense knowledge from my time at Pilgrims, and look forward to applying this to my practice, which will include hospitals, care homes and patients’ homes.
What has your role involved and what have you learnt through working at Pilgrims? Has anything surprised you?
Working at Pilgrims, I’ve seen how effective primary care management can aid in reducing the pressure on hospice services, which are mostly funded by charitable donations.
Pilgrims deliver skilled and compassionate end-of-life care, free of charge, to thousands of people across east Kent every year. They provide extensive services in the community, with care teams attending patients in their homes, care homes, and nursing homes. Supporting families is also a key focus; Pilgrims offer dedicated groups, from therapies to legacy work and so much more.
I’ve been able to get involved with delivering many of these services, including:
Clerking in new patients
Identifying actively dying patients and managing their care appropriately
Prescribing effective medication dosages and identifying beneficial choices of analgesia, anti-emetics, laxatives, and syringe drivers
Visiting patients at home alongside the medical team
Throughout my placement, I was guided and supported by a consultant and the wider Pilgrims team, who are all amazing!
I initially associated hospice work with sadness, grief and anguish, but I felt so much gratitude during my time at Pilgrims. Whilst some negative emotions are definitely more real than ever within the hospice environment, positive feelings shine through; families share their gratefulness for the care, patients express relief as they become the most pain-free they’ve ever been, and it’s lovely to see the comfort people feel thanks to the kindness shown by staff.
Do you have any favourite memories from your time at Pilgrims?
Something I’m most proud of is taking part in the Pilgrims Way Challenge 2025, which took place whilst I was working at the hospice. I completed the challenge with my medical school friend, Sana. We walked 35km from Dover to the Canterbury hospice, on a very hot day! When we crossed the finish line, we were cheered on by the wonderful ward nurses and patients.
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Afterwards, I visited the hospice and showed my medal to the nurses and patients I’d been looking after. I was particularly emotional and overwhelmed by the donations I received from family, friends, staff, patients and patients’ families – with messages including “thank you for your kindness and care towards my sister” and “thank you for being the best doctor I’ve met.”
Sana and I are proud to have raised over £2,600 for Pilgrims!
Did you have any preconceptions/assumptions about hospice care before coming to Pilgrims?
I thought hospice care was only for those at the end of life; I imagined sick people who were very close to dying. I now know that it often starts much earlier, when life-limiting diagnoses are made. Not everyone comes to the hospice to die; symptom control is a key reason for referral, to help enable patients to live well in the community. Pilgrims has a dedicated team for community visits, which expands care beyond the hospice walls.
Why is hospice care important?
I practice the Sikh faith, and am inspired by many Sikh values in how I live my life. Core aspects of the Sikh ethos include the Panjabi terms “sewa” (selfless service) and “daya” (compassion).
As hospices are almost completely charity funded, they are a prime example of sewa and daya, helping to better thousands of people’s lives and their experiences of end-of-life care, every single year.
Not only do hospices support patients with life-limiting conditions with their physical symptoms, they also support both patients and families with the psychological challenges faced at such an emotional time.
Why do we need to talk about death and dying, and how does Pilgrims help people to do this?
I’m inspired by Bhagat Puran Singh Ji (1904-1992), a prominent Sikh personality who was a humanitarian and environmentalist. He founded Pingalwara in Amritsar, a refuge for the sick, disabled, destitute, and abandoned, which developed into a charity that continues to flourish, expand and serve hundreds of thousands.
Bhagat Puran Singh Ji once stated: “Dignity in death is a birthright of each living thing.” His advocacy for death with dignity centered on ensuring that those who were terminally ill spent their final days in cleanliness, comfort, and love, without suffering – allowing them to die peacefully, cared for, and respected.
I believe these teachings and acts of service that I have looked up to are naturally been embedded within Pilgrims’ vision and care. Pilgrims encourage patient and family involvement from the first assessment and beyond – ensuring that patient wishes and dignity are upheld to the best of our abilities. As a multidisciplinary team, we all strive to work together in assessing needs, prioritising patient comfort, providing wider support to family and friends, and ensuring patient wishes are at the forefront of everything we do.
Pilgrims Hospices provides compassionate, specialist care free of charge to thousands of people in east Kent each year who are living with life-limiting conditions. Support is offered in patients’ homes, in the community, and at our three hospice sites in Canterbury, Thanet and Ashford. We also run a 24-hour advice line.
Trustees Week 2025: Celebrating the contribution of Pilgrims Hospices volunteer board members
As part of Trustees’ Week, Pilgrims Hospices is celebrating the contribution of its volunteer board members who help guide and strengthen the charity’s work across east Kent.
Simon Perks, who retired from Pilgrims Hospices Board of Trustees at the end of September 2025 after 11 years of service, reflects on his time with Pilgrims, sharing personal insights about the challenges and achievements that have shaped both his journey and the hospice’s.
What inspired you to become a trustee of Pilgrims Hospices?
It was not so much that I was inspired; rather, another trustee asked me if I would join – these were the days before applications and interviews (I hasten to add that the introduction of these is a very good thing!). I was in full-time work and don’t feel, regrettably, that I was able to give the time to being a trustee that was really needed. This probably says more about my time management than anything else. While I hope my input was of some benefit during that time, in the five years I have been retired it has been a real joy to be able to get more involved.
Simon with his sister, Juliet, at Pilgrims Hospices Cycle Challenge 2024
How has your perspective of hospice care evolved during your time as a trustee?
Having spent my working life in the NHS, I am ashamed to admit that I now realise how little I knew about hospice care, and specifically the importance of hospices being independent of the NHS. That independence, although sometimes financially challenging, gives the hospice a creativity and flexibility that I had not anticipated. Its charitable status also fosters a commitment from staff and a connection with the community that it serves that should always be cherished.
Is there a particular moment or achievement that stands out for you during your time as a trustee?
Not specifically, but there are two changes that I have observed that I believe are important. The first is the way the running of the hospice is organised. This may sound rather dry and managerial, but the way the hospice runs its affairs has been considerably strengthened in recent years. The benefits are clear; for example, the hospice is in a much stronger financial position (despite all the pressures that everyone is facing) than it has been for many years.
Further, the hospice has built on its scope and expertise to develop innovative care programmes such as Think, Talk, Act that directly address long-standing unmet needs of both patients and their families.
What will you miss most about being involved with the hospices?
Working in the NHS, I literally met thousands of doctors, nurses and support staff of all kinds over the years. The dedication, commitment, resourcefulness, creativity and compassion that I have consistently witnessed among Pilgrims staff is quite exceptional. I only regret not having been involved in more ‘Board Walks’ over the years; I always met inspirational people doing wonderful things in their daily work.
What advice would you give to hospice leaders and trustees about navigating future changes in the sector?
I have always believed that the patients, families and friends that Pilgrims care for, and support, are best served by the hospice working really closely with other care organisations and partners. This includes not only local NHS and social services, but also other hospices in Kent.
The hospice’s services will have their widest impact if Pilgrims is clearly a key partner with every agency involved in a person’s end-of-life care. Also, we have knowledge and expertise that others can learn from, and we should be able to share this as widely as possible. Much has been achieved in meeting these aims, and I am sure they remain key to successfully navigating future changes.
If you could change one thing about the way hospices are supported or funded, what would it be?
The fact that so much of the hospice’s work is funded by the generosity of the people of east Kent, whom Pilgrims serves, is a vital part of what makes Pilgrims so important to the community. Having said this, we have tried to increase the money Pilgrims receives from the NHS for the services it provides, and I hope that funding will increase in the future.
What message would you like to leave for trustees, staff, volunteers, and supporters of the hospice?
I know in the thick of the daily work routine, whether you work in an office, on the wards or in people’s homes, it can sometimes feel tough. But what I hope every single person working with Pilgrims – whether paid staff, volunteer, or even trustee – can always hold onto is that they are making a difference every single day and what they do really matters. I know this because, as many of us will have experienced, I talk to neighbours and friends whose lives have been touched by the work of Pilgrims Hospices.
And finally, you have been an active supporter of our challenge events. Will we still see you at future events?
Definitely. My wife Gill and I have already signed up for the Santa run; this will be our third time, and I hope I don’t lose my Santa trousers halfway round as I have before! We also both took part in the annual Cycle Challenge in May this year, completing 50 miles; we’re hoping to do the 75-mile route in 2026.
These are excellent events, so well organised, really sociable and a great way to support Pilgrims.
Each year, Pilgrims Hospices care for thousands of people across east Kent, with services provided from its three hospice sites in Ashford, Canterbury, and Thanet, as well as in patients’ own homes. It costs over £17.2 million annually to run these services, much of which comes from the generous support of the local community.
