Oldham paramedic to speak at national online Vocations Sunday church service

Matt Sanderson is a senior paramedic with 18 years of service in the NHS

Key workers will speak of how their Christian faith has helped give them strength to serve others during the coronavirus pandemic, in the Church of England’s national weekly online service to be broadcast tomorrow (Sunday).

Matt Sanderson, a senior paramedic with 18 years of service in the NHS, and Robert Vassell, a bus driver, will speak about their faith as part of a live-streamed service marking Vocations Sunday – celebrating the call of people to serve in a range of different roles.

The service will be led by Dr Paula Gooder, Canon Chancellor of St Paul’s Cathedral, who is a licensed lay minister in London and Birmingham, with contributions from her husband, Revd Peter Babington.

It will be broadcast on the Church of England's Facebook page at 9am tomorrow.

Matt, from Oldham, who is due to be ordained as a Deacon in the Church of England later this year, will speak of how God is always with us even at the most difficult times.

He will say: “My job challenges me, every day my colleagues and I walk into the unknown, to offer hope and relieve suffering as best we can.

"There is no better feeling than having made a difference in someone’s life and as frontline clinicians that is what drives us into work each and every day

“These are challenging times and the world has become a very scary place, fighting an invisible enemy.“

In his message, he discusses the challenges of physical distancing from family and friends.

“Yet throughout this pandemic, I am reminded by that still small voice: ‘I am not alone,” he continued.

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