Central Church Newsletter
July 2026
There is nothing like a sporting event to bring the whole world together and this Football World Cup is no different. It’s so heartwarming to see rival nations enjoying friendly banter and cheering on their teams. With Wimbledon just around the corner and various sporting activities scheduled in the next few months this is what true humanity looks like. Wouldn’t it be good if our world could just accept our differences and learn to live in peace with one another?
Linda and Malcolm Johnson
PARISH NURSING
Dear Friends,
I think you will be well aware that I spend only a day or two each week focusing on Central Church. The rest of my time is divided by many other activities such as mentoring Christian leaders, writing and broadcasting for Premier radio and serving as a trustee of two charities. Let me tell you about one of them. It’s called Parish Nursing Ministries UK.
Parish nursing sounds very Anglican but it was, in fact, founded in this country 21 years ago by a Baptist minister. The minister, the Revd Helen Wordsworth, was trained as a nurse before becoming a minister. During a visit to the U.S.A. she came across parish nursing which seeks to bring together Christian faith with nursing care. Parish nurses are appointed by local churches of many different denominations and their role is to use their nursing experience to walk alongside people giving them advice and support. Parish nurses are not involved in giving clinical support in the same way as the NHS. For example, they never give injections or hand out medication. But they are able to do many of the things that the NHS longs to do, but for which it rarely has the time.
Parish nurses will often act as an advocate. People are very often nervous about going to see their GP or attend a hospital appointment and a parish nurse may accompany them and support them as they do so. Parish nurses will sometimes work alongside a church coffee morning or similar occasion to talk with people about their medical challenges and to give advice and support drawn from their nursing training. All parish nurses must have accreditation with the Nursing and Midwifery Council in order to serve.
Parish nurses will sometimes offer to take people’s blood pressure. I know of one parish nurse who regularly offers to take people’s blood pressure after the morning Church service! We find that often as many as 10% of people need to be advised to go to their GP as a result.
Parish nurses are all committed Christians and I have spoken to many of them about their delight in being able to combine their Christian faith with their nursing skills. Understandably whilst working for the NHS nurses are not free to speak openly about their faith – but as parish nurses they are. They become an integral part of the mission of the church which, like the ministry of Jesus, reaches out to people’s spiritual and medical needs.
At the moment we have about 90 parish nurses in this country and it is my privilege to serve as Vice Chair of the national board for the charity. It’s an exciting and important organisation and it might well be appropriate for us to explore this ministry at Central at some point.
Yours ever, in Christ
Revd Jonathan Edwards
Transitional Minister
Sunday services at 10.30 a.m.
- 5th July: Revd Jonathan Edwards (Holy Communion)
- 12th July: Revd Stephen Henderson
- 19th July: Revd Jonathan Edwards ( Holy Communion)
- 26th July: Mr Eric Hewitt
Dates for your diary, held at the Pilgrim Centre unless stated otherwise. (Please phone Jonathan on 07876 234264 if you need Barbara’s address.)
- Thursday 2nd July: Bible Study, 2.30 p.m.
- Monday 6th July: Community Cafe, 10 a.m. – 1 p.m.
- Tuesday 7th July: Bible Study, 7.30 p.m. at Barbara’s
- Monday 13th July: Community Cafe, 10 a.m. – 1 p.m.
- Thursday 16th July: Bible Study, 2.30 p.m. / Executive meeting, 6.30 p.m.
- Monday 20th July: Community Cafe, 10 a.m. – 1 p.m.
- Tuesday 21st July: Bible Study, 7.30 p.m. at Barbara’s
- Monday 27th July: Community Cafe, 10 a.m. – 1 p.m.
- Thursday 30th July: Bible Study, 2.30 p.m.
Advance Notice
On Sunday 9th August we will be holding a ‘Songs of Praise’ service. Please let Chris have your favourite hymn by the end of July so that the service can be planned. We will try to incorporate as many hymns as possible. If you would like to add a sentence as to why this hymn means so much to you, please do so.
God’s Plan for Aging
Most seniors never get enough exercise. In his wisdom God decreed that seniors should become forgetful so that they would have to search for their glasses, keys and other things thus doing more walking. And God looked down and saw that it was good.
Then God saw there was another need. In his wisdom he made seniors lose coordination so they would drop things requiring them to bend reach and stretch. And God looked down and saw that it was good.
Then God considered the function of bladders and decided seniors have additional calls of nature requiring more trips to the bathroom, thus providing more exercise. God looked down and saw that it was good.
So, if you find as you age, you are getting up and down more, remember it is in your own best interest and a further example of God’s care.
Thought for the day – “You can’t make a cloudy day a sunny day, but you can embrace it and decide it’s going to be a good day after all.” – Jane Lynch
Deadline for August Newsletter – Tuesday 28th July 2026.