The Archbishop of Canterbury has met staff on the frontlines of the health service, as part of her visit to the Diocese of Rochester at the weekend.
During her second pastoral trip, Most Rev Sarah Mullally also visited a community larder and youth bike project to see how the church is a witness to the love of Jesus and provides help to the community.
As a former NHS chief nurse, Archbishop Sarah shared her gratitude for health staff at the Medway Maritime Hospital and South East Coast Ambulance Service (SECAmbs) Make Ready Centre.
The Archbishop met chaplains at the hospital and in the ambulance service, who give pastoral support and guidance to paramedics, call handlers, dispatchers and operations staff, who respond to a range of challenging environments. She also spent time on a ward with a patient.
“The Medway Make Ready Centre is offering such a great service, and it has been wonderful to see all they do. It has also been great to see how they are supported by the chaplaincy service. Life is tough here, they have to make tough decisions, and the chaplaincy team is working alongside them to supporting them in this environment," Archbishop Sarah said.
Senior Chaplain Canon Ellen Couzens explained how the team acts as a listening ear for everyone: “I’ll sit myself down in the crew room with a cup of tea and some cakes, and people can come in and chat about anything. It might be something informal or they may want to tell me about a bad job they have been through.”
After an informal prayer gathering, Archbishop Sarah prayed for the wellbeing of colleagues at the SECAmbs centre and for the chaplains.
During a Sunday service at St John’s Chatham, she preached on the theme of patience and met members of the congregation.
The Archbishop was then introduced to the Bike Project at Barnabas St Paul’s Cray, Orpington, working with Youth for Christ to give young people the opportunity to build fellowship through maintaining and recycling bicycles.
“This is a very exciting project. People from the community, with support from the Metropolitan Police and the local church are working with young people so they build their own bikes. The young people’s pride in what they are doing is wonderful. This really is a church demonstrating the love of Christ," she said.
Archbishop Sarah gifted a silver scallop shell as a symbol of pilgrimage and hospitality to Rev Rachel Curley, Rector of St Nicholas Church, where she ended her visit with a choral evensong.