Florence Nightingale remembered at annual service
Thursday, 12th May 2022
HRH Princess Alexandra, the Honourable Lady Ogilvy, attended a Service to commemorate the life of Florence Nightingale at Westminster Abbey on Wednesday 11th May.
The service is held annually to celebrate nursing and midwifery and all staff, both qualified and unqualified, and the importance of supporting one another through challenging times.
'Commitment, compassion and excellence’
The service was conducted by the Dean of Westminster, the Very Reverend Dr David Hoyle, who said in his Bidding:
‘Today, before God, we gather to offer our praise and thanksgiving, and to recall the life and witness of Florence Nightingale, the founder of modern nursing. Celebrating the work of the Florence Nightingale Foundation and in the good company of working nursing professionals, we acknowledge the legacy of commitment, compassion, and excellence we inherit.
We pray that Florence Nightingale’s determination to improve the quality of care, and secure better training may shape the gift we leave to those who follow us. We praise God for all those nurses who, like her, have carried the lamp of healing into the dark places of our world.’
The Address and readings
The Rt Reverend and Rt Hon the Lord Sentamu of Lindisfarne and Masooli gave the Address.
Professor Greta Westwood, Chief Executive Officer of the Florence Nightingale Foundation, gave some words of reflection. The Rt Hon Sajid Javid MP, Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, read 1 Corinthians 13: 4–8a; and Dame Yvonne Moores, Chair of the Florence Nightingale Foundation, read John 20: 1–3, 6b–7, 10–18.