Nursing & Midwifery Celebration Event at Gloucester Cathedral 2026

Added: 2026-05-12

[00:00:04]Dear friends, we gather in this holy place, a place of healing and hope.

[00:00:11]To offer our praise and thanksgiving to God for the vocation and skill of all of those who have dedicated their lives to the nursing and midwifery professions.

[00:00:23]To pray for those committed to their care >> [music] >> and to recommit ourselves to building a community where all are known and cared for.

[00:00:35]Hold [snorts] my hand and reassure me.

[00:00:37]Play me songs my family sent in.

[00:00:40]Turn me over to help my lungs. Shave me.

[00:00:44]Wash me. If ever you're in need, as I was, may you have an island of strangers like I had.

[00:00:53]I will never forget feeling seen, heard, and held by a community midwife in the days after my first birth. The strength of that simple arm around me brought comfort and helped empower me more than any words.

[00:01:17]He does not faint or grow weary.

[00:01:21]His understanding is unsearchable.

[00:01:25]He gives power to the faint and strengthens the powerless.

[00:01:31]We're there at the beginning of lives.

[00:01:34]We're there in times of healing and recovery.

[00:01:36]>> [music] >> We're there in times of tragedy and fear.

[00:01:40]We provide comfort. We offer reassurance.

[00:01:44]And most importantly, we advocate [music] for those who may not have the strength or voice to advocate for themselves.

[00:01:51]And that is the art of nursing, [music] and that should never be forgotten.

[00:01:59]One of the most important things I have learned is that nursing is far from easy.

[00:02:05]It demands patience, resilience, yet despite this difficulty, it is also incredibly rewarding.

[00:02:13]Every day I have the chance to learn something new. These daily lessons have helped me develop as a stronger sense of who I am as a student nurse.

[00:02:31]We all have days when the things that happen around us affect us more than other days.

[00:02:36]And when we find some situations suddenly hard that weren't hard the day before, know that however weak and poor and small you sometimes feel, real empowerment is when you know where to go when you the end of your tether, when you just need [music] someone who can lift you up.