wfn.org | UMNS# 05102-Tips for organizing a health ministry

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Tips for organizing a health ministry

Feb. 17, 2005	 News media contact:   Matt  Carlisle * (615) 742-5470*
Nashville {05102}

NOTE: This feature is a sidebar to story #101.

A UMC.org Feature
By Amy Green*

United Methodist health care advocates provide these tips for organizing
a health ministry.

·	Determine what parishioners need-whether it's care for the elderly
or for the baby
boomer children grieving their ailing parents, says Dr. G. Scott Morris,
executive director of the ecumenical Church Health Center in Memphis,
Tenn. Then make health changes at church, such as serving baked instead
of fried chicken at church dinners.

·	 Preach on health from the pulpit. "A health ministry ought to be as
important as having a choir on Sunday or a Sunday school,'' Morris says.

·	  Consider employing a health care practitioner, or parish nurse, to
care for parishioners and make referrals when necessary. A parish nurse
can nurture parishioners recovering from surgery or illness and make
regular visits to the elderly or those suffering ongoing illnesses, says
the Rev. Mearle Griffith, president and chief executive officer of the
United Methodist Association of Health and Welfare Ministries.

·	  Organize a wellness committee with parishioners who are
professionally trained medical providers.

·	  Work with other religious and medical groups in the community. Ben
Hill United Methodist Church in Atlanta has partnered with Emory
University Hospital and Morehouse School of Medicine to offer health and
mental services, says the Rev. Nancy Long, associate pastor of the
10,000-member church and a chaplain to staff and patients at Emory
hospital. "It doesn't put the burden on just one person, and everybody
can be helped," she says.

·	Advertise, advertise, advertise, says the Rev. Geniese Stanford of
New Covenant United Methodist Church in Wichita, Kan. Churches there
posted fliers in the schools about their health fairs. And don't be shy
about asking for contributions, she says. Dentists donated toothbrushes,
hotels gave soap, and hospitals and Walgreens stores contributed sacks
to put it all in. Businesses gave stuffed animals, pens, pencils and
other things for prizes. "Get to know your community,'' she says.
# # #
*Green is a freelance journalist in Nashville, Tenn.

News media contact: Matt Carlisle, Nashville, Tenn., (615) 742-5153 or
newsdesk@umcom.org.

********************

United Methodist News Service
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