Congregational Health Ministries Third Annual Conference Sept. 23-26, 2007
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ScholarshipsWorkshopsSpeakersConference Contacts
“Empowering Ministries of Health: Starting, Implementing and Advancing” will be the focus of the third annual National Congregational Health Ministries Conference Sept. 23-26 at the Spiritual Life Center in Wichita, Kansas.
The conference is designed for parish nurses/faith community nurses, clergy, health and wellness chair persons, health educators and other health ministers.
Sponsors are the General Board of Global Ministries and the General Board of Pension and Health Benefits.
“The goal of this conference is to attract persons with a passion for health and health ministry,” said Patricia Magyar, executive secretary of Congregational Health Ministries at GBGM.
Conference Seeks to Attract Health Champions
Conference sponsors want to identify and train a health champion for each annual conference “to create a culture of health and wholeness for the clergy, congregation and the community,” said Noreen E. Orbach, managing director of Health & Welfare Services with the Board of Pension and Health Benefits.
Two scholarships per annual conference will be available. However, transportation expenses are not covered.
Health ministry workshops will be offered in three TRACKS: starting, implementing or advancing.
- Starting. Workshops include Laying the Foundation, Creating the Map, and Building a Good Team.
- Implementing. Workshops include Balancing and Coping with Life, Passages Through Life: Change/Loss, and Experiencing Healing Modalities.
- Advancing. Workshops include Getting the Word Out, Assessing and Progressing, and Healing Circle.
- A fourth TRACK will offer a self-care covenant workshop led by Judy Johnston, M.S., R.D./L.D., research instructor in the Department of Preventive Medicine and Public Health at Kansas University School of Medicine. Participants will learn about health in body, mind and spirit and assess their own health to develop self-care covenants and plans for improvement.
Bishop Scott Jones of the Kansas Area will be the keynote speaker. In his sermon, “Healing Soul and Body,” Jones will look at salvation from a holistic perspective. The scripture will be Mark 2: 1-12.
Other speakers include the following:
- Rev. Embra Jackson, D. Min., AAPC, assistant to Bishop Hope Morgan Ward of the Mississippi Annual Conference, will challenge church members to become healing agents in his worship message, “Do We Want to Be Healed?”
- Kim Moore, J.D., president of the United Methodist Health Ministry Fund in Hutchison, Kansas, will explore personal everyday choices that powerfully influence health and well-being in his presentation, “Healing Self.”
- Deborah Katz, senior health policy analyst with Community Catalyst, will lead “Walk in My Shoes,” an activity designed to highlight the factors, policies and practices that interfere with health care access. Participants will assume roles as community members seeking health care or providers serving these individuals, and a discussion will follow.
- Bishop Mary Ann Swenson of the California/Pacific Annual Conference will talk about the importance of trust, commitment and accountability in teambuilding in her worship message, “Teamwork: Necessary for a Vital Future.”
- Bishop Hope Morgan Ward of the Mississippi Annual Conference will talk about “Creating Your Health Covenant,” for health and wholeness.
- Gary Gunderson, Ph.D., D.Min., M.Div., senior vice president for Health and Welfare Ministries at Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare in Memphis, Tenn., will present, “The Leading Causes of Life,” an assets-based framework for faith and health entities to promote health and healing in the community.
- Teresa Cutts, Ph.D., associate director of the University of Tennessee Health Science Center’s Office of Community Affairs, will give an update on Methodist Healthcare Congregational Health Networks.
Registration began in June. For registration information email Anne Green at AGreen@gbophb.org or call her at (847) 866-4560.
For more details about the conference contact Jim Truitt, conference registrar, at (253) 630-1268.
