We have recently celebrated the 200th anniversary of the birth of Florence Nightingale as we also celebrate the 75 years of the N.H.S.
Described as the Lady with Lamp because she carried a lamp as she visited the injured soldiers of the Crimean War, she elevated the status of nursing as she wished it to be ‘a profession for ladies of excellence.’
What is not so well known is the fact that at the age of 17 she received a call from God to be a nurse. Everything she did for the sick she likened to the equivalent to being in a church serving God. She urged her nurses to be Christlike in everything they did.
Her dedication didn’t stop at the end of the Crimean War; she continued in her task for another 50 years.
A 46 sq foot stained glass window is being designed for Romsay Abbey commemorating her life, bearing the words ‘Lo, it is I.’ Also included in the window are the words from Isaiah, ‘Here I am Lord, send me .