Nurse to be ordained a priest

A WARRINGTON nurse – who spent time as a missionary in Brazil – is to be ordained as a priest at Liverpool Cathedral.
Staff Nurse Caroline Batey, 46, who works at Spire Cheshire Hospital, Stretton, and lives at Howley was ordained as a deacon for Holy Trinity Church, Warrington, last year.
Now she will be ordained priest, meaning she can conduct communion services, on June 7.
Caroline is delighted to be working at the church where she spent her youth. She attended Holy Trinity between the ages of 11 and 18, and despite leaving to do her nurse training, kept in touch with the church.
She works as assistant minister to the vicar, the Rev Steve Parish.
She said: “It is so lovely to be a priest at the church I attended when I was 11. It is interesting to look back and see how God guides your life.
“I have come back with lots of life experiences to work at a town centre church which is in a multi-cultural community. There are a lot of people at the church that I knew when I was growing up.”
After training as a nurse Caroline worked in the theatre department of Countess of Chester Hospital, and then moved to a hospital in Bristol for further training and experience.
She was chosen to go to a Christian Conference in Sao Paulo, Brazil. She was later accepted by the South American Mission Society and worked in Brazil for nine years, before returning to the UK in 2000.
“It was an incredible time for me, a privilege to live in a different culture, learn Portuguese and appreciate more about God and how people relate to Him and to each other,” she said.
“The Brazilians I met were from all backgrounds – some wealthy – but most of my friends were poor, but so welcoming and hospitable.”
She lived in a shanty town with the locals and helped them cope with problems such as faulty electrics and poor quality water supply. She taught first aid and was pleased to hear that her training had helped a mother save her son’s life by resuscitating him after an accident.
On returning to the UK she returned to nursing and also trained to be ordained – colleagues at the hospital supported her by allowing shift changes so she could complete her training.