St. Andrew’s Church, will witness the commissioning of Helen Smith as a Parish Nurse during its All Saints’ Day service on Wednesday 1 November at 7.30pm, writes Fr. John Livesley.
Helen will also serve in the Christ the King parish at Bowburn. Working in partnership with the charity Parish Nursing Ministries UK, Helen will aim to offer a service to everyone in our communities of any faith and none.
Since the pandemic, our two churches have come to recognise that there is an increase in the number of people locally who are suffering with chronic mental and physical health needs, increasing costs of daily living, overstretch in local NHS services and social care provision.
Parish nurses work to complement local NHS and social care provision by reaching out into the community:
meeting with clients to offer advice and simple health checks such as weight and blood pressure;
signposting people to the right service;
and working alongside schools and community groups to promote healthy living and raise awareness.
They are also able to offer help with clients’ spiritual needs, to offer pastoral care, and to pray with and for them, if they wish. In this way, a parish nursing service promotes a holistic approach to the physical, emotional and spiritual wellbeing of all those in need.
Helen is a Registered General Nurse with 40 years of nursing experience, as well as being a regular member of St. Andrew’s congregation and Churchwarden. We all hope that the Parish Nursing service will become a valued and trusted organisation for people in the Spennymoor and Bowburn areas to access consistent support; a place where they are able to share and receive understanding around physical, emotional and spiritual needs.
All are welcome to attend the service on 1 November.
From 15 November, Helen will be running a weekly drop-in on Wednesdays from 10.30am – 11.30am at Christ the King Church Hall, Bede Terrace, Bowburn, and at St. Andrew’s Church Hall, on Thursdays from 11am – 12 noon. Come along and meet her!
Spennymoor's local community newspaper.
