Congregational Health Ministries Team
Central Pa. Conference
Debbie Karns, Chairperson
717-697-1253
Congregational Health Ministry Team
dekarns@verizon.net
Congregational Health Ministries
The Congregational Health Ministries Team, a subcommittee of the Commission of Health Ministries, is dedicated to bringing health and wellness awareness to all congregations in the Central Pennsylvania Conference.
Parish Nursing, Congregational Health Ministry is more recently being addressed as Faith Community Nursing. This specialty nursing has grown to over 10, 000 registered nurses in Canada, United Kingdom, Korea, Australia, New Zealand Swaziland, Zimbabwe, South Africa and the United States. The Parish Nurse/Faith Community Nurse focuses on the whole person to emphasize wellness, disease preventing and health promotion.
Roles of the Faith Community Nurse:
Integrator of Faith and Health – A faith community nurse assists faith community members to achieve higher levels of wellness by improving both their spiritual and physical health.
Health Educator – Faith community nurses are available for health education, and provide opportunities to learn about health issues, individually and in groups.
Health Counselor – A faith community nurse is available to discuss health concerns, emphasizing response to small problems and encouraging healthy lifestyles.
Referral Advisor –A faith community nurse is available to provide referrals to healthcare and social services within the community upon request.
Health Advocate – Faith community nurse speaks out to help obtain needed health related services.
Developer of Support Groups – A faith community nurse facilitates the development of support groups for the faith community and others served.
Volunteer Coordinator – A faith community nurse recruits, prepares and oversees volunteers who help those in need.
The Congregational Health Ministries Team would like to once again remind all congregations that we sponsor an annual educational opportunity. This past March, our event was entitled “Ministry of Healing and Wholeness: Giving Them New Life …health ministry is promoting health and enhancing well-being in the context of community”. In addition, our team recommends all nurses consider attending the Parish Nurse and Health Ministry Course available at the Hershey Medical Center taught by Dr. Stoll, a long time advocate for Parish Nursing. This course is available at the Hershey Medical Center; please contact Dr. Ruth Stoll at ris15@verizon.net for details or Debbie Karns at dekarns@verizon.net.
Grant monies for wellness ministries will be considered in September each year. Applications can be found in each Pastor’s Packets or by going online to CPCUMC.org and following the links to Agencies, Health Team Ministries, and to Congregational Ministries. On this page, click grant information, print the grant policy and the application from this page.
Please do not hesitate to contact me, if you have any questions in regards to this special and blessed ministry….
Debbie Karns, Chairperson
717-697-1253 or 717-645-3958
Congregational Health Ministry Team
dekarns@verizon.net
*Information gathered from article “http://en.wipedia.org/wiki?Faith_Community_Nursing”
Grant Information
Resources
Education Opportunities
(Parish Nurse Groups) |
