Dear Health Ministries Network Community,

The shock of the tragedy at Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, and the targeting of African American church goers in Kentucky is still fresh on my mind. As people who attend a religious service on a regular basis, you have probably thought with horror about someone entering your sacred place with an intent for violence. I know I have. Yet, I also know that our Jewish, Muslim and African American sisters and brothers are specifically targeted by hate and violence more than me, a white Episcopalian.

What can we do in times like these? In addition to renewed prayers for peace, I think we can do more in our HMN work. Let us take this as a call --- a call for interfaith conversation and outreach. We can do more to invite new volunteers to serve faith communities not represented in our organization. While we do have two faith community nurses and a health minister serving at Beth Israel Synagogue, we currently do not have faith community nurses or health ministers serving Muslim, Sikh, or Baha'i places of worship, for example.

I believe HMN has incredible potential. We are one of few interfaith organizations in this area, and we can increase our own understanding and compassion by connecting and supporting health ministries in diverse communities. Please join me in making this a priority. I invite your ideas and support as we diversify our volunteer base.

In other news, thank you to all those who responded to the survey. It provided helpful feedback that will inform our plans for 2019.

And finally, I hope each of you will help us celebrate faith community nursing and health ministry in Northwest Washington at the Spirit of Giving, our annual recognition event on Saturday, December 8. We will recognize faith community nurses, health ministers, and clergy and we are very excited to present a special Community Action Award to Sue Sharpe, retiring Executive Director of the Chuckanut Health Foundation. Please bring your friends and family = and I hope to see you there!

Walk in love,

Amelia

I'm the Deacon and Faith Community Nurse (FCN) for St. Stephen's Episcopal Church in Oak Harbor. I was originally a parish nurse (PN) because when I took the training that's what we were called, and then the title of FCN came along, and it made sense. I was the Diocese Liaison for the Episcopal Health Ministries Association before they folded their tents.

What caused the Episcopal Health Ministries Association to close?
Funding. It's hard to figure out how to keep the church engaged. I think across the Church in a broader sense, because of what's happening to their demographics, they don't have the resources. Nurses that would be interested in Parish Nursing are aging and the nurses who are left are getting busier and busier and busier. So, they're too tired to pick up another piece of stress. Those are the biggest challenges facing health ministry. And health care nationally.

How do you think the health ministry climate parallels the broader health care climate?

Take a look at the age of the nurses that are part of the health ministries. We're getting tired. And we don't seem to be able to attract younger people. The support from the churches that is needed to be there to help attract younger people into health ministries isn't there either, or even into ministry in general.

I do think it's starting to change. But, it's about surviving until, and if, the change happens. I've seen flashes of younger people showing up, but not yet in the numbers needed.

How do you feel about the decline you've seen in energy and resources, and the results?

Well, there's a sadness to it. And, of course my own energy is going away. I started in health care 55 years ago. So, my body just doesn't have the get up and go that it once had.

There's talk of the community health worker (CHW) as valuable to health care, so there's an interest in health ministry right now because it's an existing form of a CHW. Are you familiar with that conversation?

I'm a little familiar with the concepts that have been circulating for a while actually, but it never seems to gain traction. Health care doesn't need to be nearly as expensive as we've made it, but it still takes money, and nobody seems to have the will to spend money in that direction.

You know one of my complaints since I've been in health care is that we always try to figure out the most expensive way to do anything. Let's treat all our people dealing with mental health issues in the ERs and the prisons, which are the two most expensive places in the world to treat anybody. That's where we do it and it doesn't work. But we're not willing to look at it and say, "you know we could do this for a third of that cost, if we just opened up in this way and got it out of the criminal justice system." Drugs are the same way, but for some reason this society has decided that this is the way we do things, we keep falling back on that old model.

And it's the same sort of thing that's tough on health ministry. It's not quantifiable enough, it's not algorithm-able enough to prove it actually works, we just know people are happier and healthier when it's around. And as hard as they've tried to quantify it, health care is not quantifiable -- It's the art and practice of medicine and it's hard to quantify art.

Why don't people want to get on board with community-based health initiatives?

Why do people mail bombs to politicians? Or walk into synagogues? Why can't we talk to each other? That's the magic question.

We're all scared. I think it's fear. We're afraid somebody's going to get something that we don't have. We're afraid somebody will take something from us. How do you quantify that piece? I do believe that once you get to the bottom line, we're afraid to do anything like that anymore in this country. At the moment.

I think it'll change, but I may not be around to see it. Guys like you get to lead that sort of thing. And how do we get you guys involved? PNs are there, although even in healthcare they're worried about nurses aging out. There's a huge call for nurses.

Nursing was 93% female when I started and it's still about 93% female now. Why aren't males going into nursing other than gender identity pieces? People are afraid to be seen as a nurse. You're a deacon, why aren't you a priest? You're a nurse, why aren't you a doctor? I mean, it's been my whole life. You know why? Because that isn't where I'm called. It isn't where I'm fed.

Is there anything you feel lead to say to the network?

How do we generate interest in people younger than 60, or even 50? Where do we find that? How do we get those people involved?

And it's going to sound sexist, but how can we get males involved? Because it's still predominantly female and it doesn't have to be. How do we get gender out of the way? How do we convince males that it's not a terrible thing to be a nurse? Of course, you'd have to get all his buddies to believe that too.

But that would be the thing, where is the leadership coming from in ten years? Because the current leadership is going to be pretty old. But I didn't say that (laughs). I am one of those. I'm 70 at this point, and I've been at it for 50 years.

Interviewed by Sampson Alvarado on October 28, 2018.

---

Thank you Chaz This month we recognize Charles Nelson, webmaster extraordinaire, for his 10 years of volunteer service. Charles, seen right with Rev. Dick Cathel, has been an invaluable part of this organization in creating our website, designing our logo, and contributing insight.

Upcoming Events

Veteran's Smile Day
Friday, November 9, all day
Various Locations
Serving those who served, FREE Dental Care for Veterans Donated dental services provided by local dentists. Dental cleanings | Extractions | Root canals | Dental fillings

Navigating Health Insurance Options
Tuesday, November 13, 10am - 6pm
Point Roberts Community Center
1487 Gulf Rd Point Roberts, WA 98281
Free, Confidential, and Unbiased Help
Medicare Open Enrollment 10/15 - 12/7
Qualified Enrollment 11/1 - 12/15
Call today to make your appointment: 360-788-6594

Advanced Care Planning Community Workshop
Tuesday, November 13, 4pm - 6pm
Fairhaven College Auditorium, Western Washington University
WWU Palliative Care Institute presents Recompose, a process that gently converts human remains into soil, so that we can nourish new life after we die. Their goal is to offer recompositon as an alternative choice to cremation and conventional burial.

HMN monthly meeting
Friday, November 16, 11am - 1pm
First Congregational Church of Bellingham
2401 Cornwal Ave, Bellingham, WA
Free with a light lunch provided
Tessa Whitlock from Whatcom Alliance for Health Advancement (WAHA) will update us on their programs including Medicare open enrollment and advance care planning. We will use the rest of the time to share about our health ministry with each other.

Spirit of Giving: Annual HMN Recognition Lunch
Saturday, December 8, 11am - 1pm
First Congregational Church of Bellingham
2401 Cornwal Ave, Bellingham, WA
Please join us as we recognize the dedication of volunteers and clergy who provide health ministry in our community. Reserve your spot today!
$25 suggested donation. Contact Sampson Alvarado at 360-788-6408 or sampson@healthministriesnetwork.net.

HMN monthly meeting
Friday, December 14, 11am - 1pm
First Congregational Church of Bellingham
2401 Cornwal Ave, Bellingham, WA
Free with a light lunch provided
Hilary Walker of PeaceHealth will guide us through creating our own advance care directive. A second workshop will happen in 2019 for those interested in learning how to help others fill out their directives. For those interested in becoming a facilitator it is recommended that you first attend this workshop to complete your own advance care directive.

Upcoming Events allows anyone to share relevant events with the network.

Email sampson@healthministriesnetwork.net for information on how to submit your own.

Book Review by Maridel Johnson, who recommends
The Gene. An Intimate History by Siddhartha Mukherjee

I found this book to be a well written, absorbing account of the quest for what it means to be human. Over the millennia from Aristotle to modern day scientists there has been a search to define how heredity affects human behavior.

TThe mapping of DNA and the human genome has been a great benefit to humankind and especially to the art, science and practice of nursing. Knowledge of how genes affect heredity reorganizes our understanding sexuality, choice and free will, and gives nursing a paradigm within which to carry out effective care planning for individuals who have physical and mental illnesses.

This knowledge has contributed to our own personal beliefs and values and how each one of us has come to be the person we are, and how society - its benefits and ills - has developed over the years.

I recommend this book to all who enjoy reading and lifelong learning.

DO YOU HAVE A BOOK RECOMMENDATION? EMAIL sampson@healthministriesnetwork.net FOR INFORMATION ON HOW TO SHARE.

Two years ago, I was walking across the street with my sister-in-law. We were in a crosswalk, crossing with the green light, talking, when I looked up and saw a large pickup truck turning the corner, coming right toward us, and suddenly I realized it wasn't stopping, not even slowing down. The next thing I remember is we were on the cold, wet ground, surrounded by concerned people. We were in shock, disoriented, and in pain. At the emergency room we discovered our injuries were not serious, a few broken bones and a bump on the head. Surgery for my sister-in-law, and a long period of recuperation for each of us. Even in the midst of our pain and confusion we were overcome with gratitude. Grateful we survived: two grandmas vs truck. In the ER, through procedures, physical therapy, pain, limitations, and new challenges, we were continually grateful.

I share this story because I have been focusing on gratitude in my life for some time. While around us is increasing anger, fear, and distrust of "the other" it seems more important than ever to find the things for which I am grateful, every day. I am grateful for the big things: the gift of life and love, this planet we live on, friends and family, the gift of faith. And even the small things: a smell, a taste, a tiny flower blooming unexpectantly can invoke a grateful heart.

Gratefulness is a feeling, yet it is something more. It is an attitude, a commitment, a way of life. For those who follow Christ, we are told to "give thanks in all things." As noble as this sounds, it is not always possible or even advisable. There are times when we are treated unjustly or witness others being treated unjustly. At times we just can't be thankful. Yet, with the perspective of time and hard spiritual work, we learn to be grateful for all the moments of success and failure, joy and sorrow which have brought us to this place in our life and shaped us into the person we have become. For this we can be grateful.

My faith teaches me out of gratitude comes action. It is because there is much in my life to be grateful for I have much to share with others. It is a gift I have received, this gratitude, and in sharing it with others my life is enriched and hopefully, with Spirit working through me, theirs may be also. It is the difference between doing something out of obligation and doing the same thing joyfully. You who volunteer as Health Ministers, Faith Community Nurses, Health Advocates, or support this program in your community, may have experienced gratitude which motivates you to help others.

In this season of giving thanks, and beyond, I invite you to join me in focusing on what you are grateful for each day. With practice, this list grows longer and longer while anxiety lessens. Being grateful may not bring peace to our world, yet it can bring increased peace to your life.

"Let gratitude be the pillow upon which you kneel to say your nightly prayer. And let faith be the bridge you build to overcome evil and welcome good." Maya Angelou

HEALTH MINISTRY CLASSIFIEDS

The HMN classifieds allow anyone to share relevant information with the network. Email you own classified request to sampson@healthministriesnetwork.net.

Adult Day Care seeking Location in Bellingham
As you may know, the only Adult Day Care (sometime referred to as adult day health) program in Whatcom county recently closed. In response, Adult Day Care in Skagit County is looking to start an adult day care in Whatcom County. They hope to have a program available to local seniors by the end of the year in a temporary space, if needed. Click here to read more about location specifications they are looking for, and please contact forward any location suggestions to Pauline Smith, Executive Director at Adult Day Care in Skagit County at pauline@skagitadultdayprogram.org.

HMN seeking Photo-ops
Posted by Sampson Alvarado
We need more photos! Do you have any events or activities that would be photo appropriate and relevant to HMN? Please email sampson@healthministriesnetwork.net if you have any ideas, thank you.

Free Education and Advice for Congregants with Hearing Needs
Posted by Aleen Warren
Joel Bergsbaken, Program Coordinator at the Bellingham Hearing, Speech, and Deaf Center can provide education and advice for selecting and utilizing appropriate technology for congregants with hearing needs. This is a free service and I highly recommend that you contact this man -- he is wonderful!
360-647-0910 or bellingham@hsdc.org

Health Ministries Network is a nonprofit serving Northwest Washington. Our mission is to link faith community nurses, congregations, community organizations and hospital resources to serve our community by promoting preventative health care, social justice and spiritual well being.

Health Ministries Network is fiscally sponsored by the Chuckanut Health Foundation.

TOP