International Nurses Day: A Reflection on Vocation, Faith, and Justice

By Reuben Collings, a Queen’s Nurse working as an NHS commissioner in Bath and North East Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire.

Today, we mark International Nurses Day, a moment not only to recognise a profession, but to affirm a calling that is both sacred and transformative.

Nursing is not simply a series of tasks or technical interventions. It is a vocation, an expression of love, compassion, justice, and presence in action. Across hospitals, clinics, care homes, communities, and commissioning systems, nurses serve in diverse ways, each offering something of themselves in the pursuit of healing and wholeness.

Some nurses offer direct care. Others work in leadership, education, research, or policy. Some advocate for the marginalised or quietly stand alongside individuals and families through moments of crisis and vulnerability. Some, like me work in learning disability and autism, working persistently in spaces where the voice of the person is not always heard, and where inequalities remain stark.

In every setting, nursing reflects a deeper truth: that every person carries inherent worth, and that care rooted in dignity and justice is a moral and spiritual imperative.

Within the Methodist tradition, we believe in the holiness of everyday work, in what John Wesley would have seen as practical divinity. Nursing, in this light, is a form of ministry. For many Christian nurses, it becomes what Paul embodied in Acts as a tentmaker ministry. A calling lived out through ordinary labour, rooted in extraordinary grace.

Faith does not sit apart from this work. It often fuels it. It gives meaning in times of moral distress, offers hope when systems seem broken, and sustains compassion in the face of burnout or loss. Scripture reminds us:

“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters” (Colossians 3:23).

This is not a call to perfectionism or pressure, but to purpose. It is an invitation to hold our professional responsibilities within the framework of love, humility, and service, to see our roles not only as jobs, but as opportunities for the Kingdom of God to break through in real and tangible ways.

On this International Nurses Day, we honour not only nurses past and present, but also the values that underpin this work:

• Compassion that sees beyond diagnosis to the whole person.
• Advocacy that challenges inequality, exclusion, and injustice.
• Presence that sits with grief, confusion, or fear, without turning away.
• Wisdom that leads and influences for the good of all.
• Solidarity with the most marginalised, including those with learning disabilities, autism, mental health needs, or those whose voices are too often diminished.
• And faith - lived quietly, or openly, that sustains a sense of calling even when the work is hard.

Let us give thanks today:

For the nurses who inspired us to join the profession.

For those who mentored, challenged, and walked alongside us.

For the patients, families, and communities who shape our understanding of what it means to care.

And for the God who is present in every encounter, whether named or unnamed.

A prayer for International Nurses Day:

God of healing, hope, and justice,

We lift before you all who serve in the ministry of nursing.

Bless the hands that comfort, the minds that advocate,

And the hearts that continue to care, even in the face of exhaustion.

Be near to those working in under-resourced systems.

Strengthen those leading change, speaking up, or making space for others to be heard.

Where there is injustice, may they be bold.

Where there is pain, may they be present.

And in all things, may their work reflect your love.

Sustain them with grace.

Renew them with hope.

And remind them that their labour is not in vain.

In the name of Christ, our servant and healer. Amen.