Every week, clergy tell us about the difference St Luke's has made to their physical or mental health.
Here's what they say
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'Throughout our ministry, we have been aware of St Luke's as a healthcare provision for clergy and, in all honesty, we prayed that we would never need it! However, in our hour of need, St Luke's has been nothing short of an answer to prayer.
We approached with hesitation as, sometimes, admitting to the need for help can be difficult. However, from St Luke's kind and immediate response, through their careful discretion and support to find the right medical care, we have been held secure in St Luke's hands.
Illness - particularly as you grow older, when life can at times feel frightening and bleak - can be an additional worry and it's hard to know who to look to for support without the benefits of a lifetime of private healthcare. St Luke's has taken away this additional anxiety by providing us with the charitable funding to seek the support we need. We are so grateful for their presence, their care and their financial support to help us get the medical provision we need.'
‘We wanted to be involved with Thank Your Vicar Week as we thought it would be a wonderful way of involving our whole school family in showing our appreciation to our vicar. It supported our RE curriculum as it gave pupils the opportunity to learn more about our vicar’s role.’
'Can I encourage you to join in with Thank Your Vicar Week? We all respond well to appreciation and encouragement and whilst the work of our clergy often goes unnoticed, I’m sure each one of us can think of a special moment when we’ve received something through the ministry of our clergy.’
‘Lovely! – a total surprise. I take assembly every week and at the end, the head announced we were celebrating Thank Your Vicar Week. Every single class presented me with something they’d made – wonderful cards and portraits of me!’
My last PCC meeting was far more relaxed and not combative, which resulted in innovative, creative suggestions from the members.
The group has enabled me to value in-depth listening and to contain the desire to instantly ‘make things right’ for others.
I have explored ways of handling conflict that can defuse rather than exacerbate the situation.
We have had modelled the establishment and maintenance of healthy boundaries.
St Luke's Resilience Workshop is a must for the clergy.
Some of the most helpful and useful training I have ever attended.
Trainer was very engaging and energising. Thank you very much.
I just wanted to write to say a huge thank you for the amazing help of St. Luke's Healthcare with my M.E./CFS. The consultant not only diagnosed the chronic fatigue but also predicted how it would develop and how it could be managed. His predictions were spot on, and his written report underpinned my whole recovery journey. It gave me huge assurance and enabled me to manage my time, energy and expectations (for both me and the church family). In addition, I cannot overstate how beneficial the recommended CBT programme was (also funded by St. Luke's). My heartfelt thanks to everyone involved.
We had suspected for years that my son had autism. Family life was very difficult every day. We were all struggling to cope with our son and to know how best to help him. The waiting list in our area was three years-plus and we felt that for his sake and ours, we couldn’t wait that long.
With St Luke’s help, we met for a consultation with a child psychiatrist, followed by a child psychologist and speech and language therapist. As a result, my child has received a diagnosis of high-functioning autism. Because NICE guidelines were used, this diagnosis is recognised by our local authority and accepted by my son’s school.
This has had a huge impact on all our family’s lives, particularly my son. He has been able to accept who he is and has made so many positive steps in life. As parents, we now feel a lot more able to understand our son and help him in life. We are so, so grateful that this was able to happen!
For two or three years, I’d suffered from hypersensitivity to sunlight in the skin on my face. It meant my face was always sore and burned-looking. The NHS treatment was slow and ineffective and so I contacted St Luke’s for help.
I was referred by St Luke’s to a first-class skin specialist who diagnosed vitiligo on my face. It is sadly untreatable but it was a huge help to know what was going on and to be seen by someone at the top of this specialism. I am incredibly grateful to St Luke’s for making this possible.
