Many of us have been challenged to meet ministry needs during the COVID 19 pandemic. These challenges have provided new opportunities to do ministry, to creatively maintain connections, to seek resources to meet emerging needs. We are now in another place of transition, that of reopening our places of worship. It is another opportunity to [...]
Dear friends, As we have been sheltering in place to keep ourselves, our loved ones and our communities safe, we may have found ourselves with a bit more time to think. I have found myself thinking a lot about what I would like do to make sure this time is not wasted; that it is [...]
Years ago, I read the book, The Art of Racing in the Rain, by Garth Stein, which was recently turned into a movie. It is a beautiful story about a family coping with crisis, narrated by the family dog, Enzo. Enzo has an old soul and teaches us a lot about being human. One of [...]
by Guest Blogger Marilyn Harris, MSN, RN, NEA-BC, FAAN Psalm 42:5 Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him for the help of His continence. I have numerous daily devotional books on my bookshelf that I read on a periodic [...]
by Guest Blogger Sharon Becker, RN: While on a call today with a church friend it occurred to me that people often have trouble setting boundaries to maintain their personal health and well being. My friend shared that one fellow congregant really brought her down during their conversations. The woman has considerable physical and mental [...]
Amidst all the stressors of the COVID-19 pandemic, the US 2020 Census is still happening. This is an opportunity for individuals to be counted. Why is this important to health ministry? Data obtained from the census will make a difference in funding for many areas that impact the health of our communities. From https://2020census.gov/en/what-is-2020-census.html: The [...]
UPDATE: 5/26/2020 - There are glimmers of hope that the pandemic is being controlled. We are seeing some non-essential small businesses open, with new parameters, more test sites available and numbers of death per day going down. As we settle into the new norm Covid-19 has created for us, it’s time to think about what [...]
2020 Conference Venue: Techny Towers 2/21/2020 – by Annemarie Halfpap Built in 1899 by a German order of priests, Techny Towers Conference and Retreat Center is something to behold. I had the privilege of a guided tour in January 2020 in preparation for the Health Ministries Association (HMA) conference, to be held there [...]
Check back for more at hmassoc.org over the month of February - American Heart Month The National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute at NIH has new and creative tools to raise awareness about heart health and to help prevent heart disease. On January 21, CMS finalized a decision to cover acupuncture for Medicare patients with [...]
On January 7, 2020, a novel or new coronavirus (2019-nCoV) was identified in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China. The numbers of confirmed cases and deaths are increasing and both the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization are closely monitoring this outbreak have made recommendations for clinicians and the public. The [...]
