Parish Nurse

Listen closely to my words.
For they are life to those who find them
and health to a man's whole body.
Proverbs 4:22

He sent them out to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick.
Luke 9:2

Jesus was a healer and told his disciples to do the same. Pilgrim Church member Marjorie Welsh has been called to this healing ministry. As our volunteer Parish Nurse, she serves the church and community and reflects the compassionate healing love of Jesus Christ.

Marjorie has been in the field of nursing all her life, starting with a job at Foxboro State Hospital when she was just seventeen. She became a nurse's aid, then received her RN in 1974, and worked for many years at Cape Cod Hospital in the coronary care, medical-surgical and orthopedic units. She also made ambulance runs and taught a class in medical terminology at the hospital and a nurse's aide course for several years as part of Harwich's adult education program. After retiring, she enrolled in an educational program offered by "Parish Nurse Ministries of Cape Cod" and established the Parish Nurse program at Pilgrim Church.

The Reverend Dr. Granger Westbury founded the Parish Nursing movement in Illinois in the 1980s. He believed in integrating the practice of faith and the practice of nursing to help people achieve wellness of body, mind and spirit. Parish Nursing is an ecumenical organization of professional, registered nurses who are committed to meet the spiritual, physical and emotional needs of their parishioners and the health and healing of the congregation and the community under the standards of "The International Parish Nurse Resource Center."

Marjorie is available at Pilgrim Church on Tuesdays, from 10 am to 12 noon. Anyone, whether a parishioner or not, is welcome to stop in and spend some time with her. She checks blood pressure and offers guidance. As a signatory to the Parish Nurse covenant, she has promised to "advocate, collaborate, educate and counsel on health and wellness issues to all God's people."

All screenings are confidential and free of charge. Parish Nurses DO NOT administer medications, perform invasive procedures or duplicate existing home health care services. Blood pressure screenings are provided as a community service and are not intended to provide medical advice.

Marjorie is also active as a member of Pilgrim Church's Care Committee, an outreach group to church members. In addition, she has been a chairperson of the church's Christian Missions & Outreach Committee, which supports local, national and international community causes with time, effort and donations. Marjorie is additionally a member of the Trustees which oversees the business aspects of Pilgrim Church.