Health is more than the absence of illness. It is the presence of care.
Parish Nursing Ministries UK , 2025 Impact Report
Parish Nurses bring whole-person healthcare through the local church into the heart of the community.
Parish Nursing is an innovative service, provided in partnership with Parish Nursing Ministries UK (Home | Parish Nursing Ministries UK), which aims to improve and maintain the wholistic health and wellbeing of local people. Parish Nurses are Registered Nurses who work in communities from Churches and Christian organisations. A parish nursing service integrates spiritual, physical, psychological, emotional and social health to individuals and the local community, regardless of faith position, and to the congregation as required.
The parish nurse role includes:
- General health education
- Personal health screening, health support and referral
- Advocating for individuals and health more widely
- Acting as a health navigator and resource
- Providing spiritual care
- Supporting and training volunteers
- Liaising with other local services
- Supporting the wider health, safety and risk management of the church/organisation and congregation.
In the Diocese of Sheffield there has been a Parish Nursing Project at St Matthew’s Church, Carver Street since 2020. Today their work includes giving health advice and support in the Moor Market by running a drop-in service, offering health assessments and guidance on how to get help; and a drop-in service at St Matthew’s Church to provide sanctuary space for marginalised people in the community. Parish Nursing Project – St Matthew’s Carver Street
In 2026, funding from national church for social justice and community transformation work has enabled a Parish Nurse Service to be set up at St Paul’s Church Wordsworth Avenue at Parson Cross, and at Church of Christ and St Albans House Christian Community in Attercliffe and Darnall.
Grants available
The Diocese of Sheffield is currently working to support interested parishes in setting up new Parish Nursing Services. Churches can receive a grant to cover the costs relating to the recruitment of a Parish Nurse (between 7 hours and 28 hours per week) and the set-up costs required in the first year, or in some cases two years, to run a Parish Nurse service. The church will then have to plan for continuation funding for the service.
We expect to be able to subsidise the setting up of 4 to 6 new parish nursing services with this fund and applications can be made between 15 May and 11 September 2026; please note that we can currently only allocate funding to the end of 2028.
What can you do next?
Attend an Info Session
To find out more about Parish Nursing ministry and how the Parish Nursing Grant Pot can help you, come along to one of our 45-minute online info sessions:
- Parish Nursing Grant Info Session – Wednesday 22 April, 1.15pm
- Parish Nursing Grant Info Session – Thursday 23 April, 7.30pm
Apply for a grant
or contact Jane Anderson with any questions or comments.
Related links
You may need to diversify your funding streams to supplement giving and fundraising to support the upkeep of your buildings and mission activities
Supporting Christian communities across the UK to establish enduring, accredited Parish Nursing services.
A nursing project based in a city-centre Anglo-catholic church.