A church in north London has become the first Healthy Healing Hub in the country.
Christ Church Southgate will offer support for the health and well-being of the community within a Christian context.
Healthy healing hubs are a project by the Guild of Health and St Raphael which believes the ministry of healing is a vital part of the Church’s mission.
Fr Chrichton Limbert, lead vicar of Christ Church Southgate, told Premier joining the project seemed a “very good way of formalizing” the activities that were already taking place in the church to “provide care for everybody in the community.”
“It just legitimizes in some ways what we've been doing already; it gives us a sort of support materials; it gives us the option of joining in with others… So I think it's just a case of finding a good framework for what we were doing. And I don't see any reason why every church shouldn't sign up, because it is what we've committed to do: to care for the community.”
The project seeks to train and equip churches to be places of healing for their whole community. The Guild also acts as umbrella organisation helping connect churches to local GPs and encouraging conversations around church buildings being used for health purposes in the community.
So far 100 people have done the training and more churches are expected to open as hubs this year. The Guild’s CEO, Rev Dr Gillian Straine said: “Our churches can provide critical support of our communities at this difficult point in the pandemic and I am confident that the training, resources and support that we offer can help elevate the mission of our Christian communities to offer hope and wellbeing.”
The project has received the support of the lead bishop for Health and Social Care in the House, the Bishop of Carlisle, Right Rev James Newcomb.
"I am really excited by the Healthy Healing Hub project, and believe that this marks a big potential step forward in developing the Church's ministry of healing, which is such a central part of our mission in and to a hurting world."