Introduction
The holy well at St Winefride’s, which gives our town its name has been a place of pilgrimage since at least 1115. However, the spring itself dates to the seventh century, when Welsh abbot St Beuno brought his niece Winifred back to life. This makes Holywell the oldest continually visited pilgrim site in Britain. We are also at the beginning of the North Wales Pilgrim's Way, which travels to Bardsey Island - the legendary 'Isle of 20,000 Saints'.
Since the construction of the new parish church - St Peter's - the Holywell and Greenfield Churches, which are now part of the wider Estuary and Mountain Mission Area (Registered Charity 1179900), have been at the heart of our town, and our work increased greatly with the Covid-19 Pandemic and subsequent Cost of Living Crisis.
We currently provide food, support, and access to services through the Table, the Foodbank, and our growing partnerships with other local and national organisations.
This work has revealed the levels of need (practical, emotional and spiritual) in parts of our town, and people in this community now look to the church for support. Well-Being @ St James' is a significant development of our work, and a way to bring new life to this ancient building, and to bless all in our community who need healing, wholeness and, above all, hope.
Our Vision
The Four Aspects of Well-Being
01
Well-Bean Coffee Shop
Glass partitions have been used in the south aisle to form the Well-Bean Coffee Shop, which will provide refreshments and a safe space for all.
We intend to offer employment opportunities to those with learning difficulties in collaboration with local partners.
Well-Bean will be both affordable and locally and ethically supplied.
02
The Central Space and Sanctuary
he main body of the church will be the home for larger events. We also intend to host fundraising concerts and recitals. The central space would also remain in use for larger parochial activities.
The sanctuary has been beautifuly restored and made more flexible.
03
Well-Being Rooms
The north aisle houses the Well-Being Rooms:
- Well-Being Room 1 is a dedicated home for our parish nursing service
- Well-Being Room 2 will provide a home for a number of support groups - in collaboration with other organisations. It will be a flexible space that can be used for training, meetings or other local groups.
04
Parish Nursing Service
Central to this project will be the provision of the first Parish Nursing Service in Wales. In close partnership with PNMUK, our parish nurse will be available to provide both healthcare information and education, as well as individual appointments - referring people back to the NHS or other local partners as appropriate.
Our Parish Nursing Service
Margaret Mort - Our Parish Nurse
AParish Nurse is a nurse registered by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC), working under its Code of Conduct.
Confidentiality is within the Code: anything said to the Parish Nurse is kept private unless you are being harmed or are harming someone else, or at risk of doing so.
A Parish Nurse will have gained many years of experience working within the National Health Service, the community and / or private practice.
They are there to serve the local community regardless of faith, no faith, gender or ethnicity and their role is to offer holistic health care.
Our parish nurse is Margaret Mort.
Margaret became a Registered Nurse in 1979 - most recently she worked in Holywell Hospital Minor Injuries.
She is accountable for her actions to Nursing and Midwifery Council and conversations with her are confidential, unless they involve safeguarding concerns.
Services available:
Parish Nurses work with people of all ages and backgrounds, with any faith or none, focusing on the person rather than just a medical condition, and integrating all the different aspects of health.
- Health Screening (B/P, Weight, BMi etc.)
- Healthy living advice
- Hand Massage
- A listenting ear
- Spiritual Support
- Mental Health support
- Home visits to support families
- Post bereavement visits
- Signposting to other services depending on individual needs
- Advocacy
- Support groups for a variety of issues
Margaret's availability
"I will be available for 12 hours a week.
On a Monday and Tuesday I will alternate between the Table and the Holway Community centre.
On a Wednesday and Thursday I will be at Well-Being @ St James, Wednesdays will be appointments but on a Thursday it will be a drop in service."
Referring yourself to our parish nurse
To refer yourself confidentially to our Parish Nurse, please click the button below - fill in the form and Margaret will be in touch with you. Alternatively, you contact her directly:
Email address: margaretmort@cinw.org.uk
Phone Number : 07738 472414
If you are referring someone else, you can also follow the link below and access our professional referral form.
Who supports our Parish Nurse?
Within the church: The Parish Nurse is a key member of, and supported by, the Vicar, Mission Hub Leadership Team and the Well-Being Steering Group.
The Parish Nurse is also supported by volunteers, either from the Pastoral Care Team or specifically recruited, trained and supported to work with the Parish Nurse. They will all have a current enhanced Disclosure and Barring service check.
Our Parish Nursing Service abides by the Church in Wales Safeguarding Policy, and you can find more information here.
External Support: Parish Nurses are also supported by a national charity, Parish Nursing Ministries UK (PNMUK).
PNMUK delivers the Certificate in Parish Nursing and provides our Parish Nurse with clinical supervision, training days and support to ensure that the service is well run.
Please visit parishnursing.org.uk for more information.
Monitoring: Whilst we have internal monitoring of our service to you, we would also really appreciate your feedback. Our Parish Nurse will offer you a form to fill in and send back so that we can monitor the quality of care people receive, and improve or change the service where needed to make it the best it can possibly be.
If you have difficulty writing then please contact one of the Ministry team here.
Become a friend of Well-Being
If you
love St James’
and want to see it
flourish for the next thousand years, or if you love our vision to bring
healing of body, mind and spirit then you can sign up to become a
Friend of Well-Being!
The friends will support the Well-Being Project by:
- Organising fundraising events
- Volunteering
- Keeping up-to-date with developments through our mailing list
- Being invited to our annual Friends’ Thanksgiving Service
In exchange for your support, all our friends will get:
- 10% off everything in the Well Café
- A badge that you can wear with pride
[badges will be sent out ahead of our grand opening in October 2024] - You’ll be the first to hear about special events
How to get involved
We have an amazing team of volunteers who have been instrumental in the project so far through:
- Regular work parties in the church
- Gardening Days to clear the grounds of years of overgrowth
- Welcoming visitors and pilgrims at our open days.
If you'd like to be involved, then simply contact our Well-Being Project Coordinator to see what's coming up that you can be involved with!
