PHW Receives Outstanding Community Service Award

PHW received an Outstanding Community Service Award from Peletah Ministries in New Bern, under the leadership of Pastors Anthony and Dawn Baldwin Gibson, on Saturday, January 11.  Peletah Ministries, a small congregation of about 50 people, is making a real difference in their local community and surrounding areas. But instead of shining the spotlight on themselves, Peletah Ministries chose to acknowledge other community partners – e.g., the Food Bank of Central and Eastern NC, NC Cooperative Extension, NC Resourceful Communities and the Council’s very own PHW Initiative – at their Second Annual Church Anniversary Celebratory Reception.

Peletah Ministries achieved PHW’s highest level of certification in 2013 for their efforts to improve the health of God’s people as well as a $1,000 mini-grant to further grow their health ministry. Through their strategic partnerships with other statewide organizations and local businesses, Peletah Ministries was able to accomplish the following in 2013:

• Fed nearly 7,500 people through their food ministry
• Distributed more than 130 desktop computers to students in Jones, Craven and Pamlico counties
• Successfully completed the Faithful Families Program for adults and children
• Became a Certified Application Counselor organization to help individuals in need of affordable health care
• Became one of the sites for the National Institute of Mental Health’s disaster preparedness project

I was blown away by all that Peletah Ministries – again, a small congregation of just 50 people! – was able to accomplish over the course of a year. They are living proof that one person plants a seed and another waters it, but God gives the increase (I Corinthians 3:7).

Thank you, Peletah Ministries, for your service to the community and for taking the time to recognize partners who have supported you along the way. We are truly grateful.

-Willona Stallings, PHW Program Coordinator

Partners in Health and Wholeness is an initiative of the North Carolina Council of Churches. PHW aims to connect health as a faith issue. Please visit our website to sign your personal pledge to be healthier, and to find out about grant opportunities for places of worship in NC.