Health Ministry

Background

The church's healing ministry is as old as Jesus. In the 1980's a grass roots movement grew to embrace many different models, including parish nursing, lay health promoters, faith-based clinics, healing congregations, participatory health, and specific health initiaties. So successful was the movement that a national Health Ministries Association was established in 1989.

What is Health Ministry?

Individuals involved with Health Ministries include lay people, health professionals and ministry professionals blending faith and health to make their congregations and communities healthier. They are founded on the whole person concept, acknowledging the close connection between mind, body and spirit.

Mission

To be a source of information and leadership in the faith community. To ensure that the body, health and spiritual needs of individuals are met thorugh worship, education, networking, healthy behavior and by promoting the "whole person."

The Health Ministry Cabinet

The Cabinet works in close partnership with the Methodist Hospital Health Ministries Program. It provides our congregation with information on health promotion, disease prevention, health education, health fairs, health screenings, immunization clinics, health-community speakers and health education materials.

It assists and supports the activities of the Parish Nurse.

Members of the Cabinet are not only health care professionals but also parishioners interested in promoting the mind, body and spirit of the congregation.

The Cabinet is open to any suggestions for programs or speakers and welcomes any member of the congregation who would like to volunteer to participate on the Cabinet. To obtain additional information, click on Requests .

Methodist Hospital Health Ministries

For more information on Methodist Hospital Health Ministries, visit the following website:

http://www.methodisthospital.org/frontpage/healthministries.htm

The Parish Nurse

The Parish Nurse is a registered nurse who has taken additional specialty instruction to practice in the faith community and whose ministry is to foster new and creative responses to health concerns.

The parish nurse:

Understands health to be a dynamic process that embodies the spiritual, psychological, physical and social dimensions of the person
Is a personal health counselor for the congregation and persons with health concerns
Is a health educator who promotes holistic care to the congregation
Is a liaison with Methodist Hospital and community health organizations
Does not provide direct patient care, but does provide referrals to community resources
Is a member of the Health Ministries Cabinet
Works closely with the pastors and Stephen Ministers
Maintains confidentiality with all client information

The Parish Nurse is usually available at the church on Tuesday mornings and the third Sunday of the month in the lounge after the 10:00 a.m. service.

To contact the Parish Nurse . . .

Call Lynn Rivera at: (626) 278-1918 or sa_nre@earthlink.net, or call the church office at (626) 447-2181 OR submit a request to be contacted.

For the latest and most accurate health information news . . .

Check with the National Institutes of Health at

http://www.nih.gov