Please join the North Carolina Council of Churches at the 2014 Faith and Health Summit, which will be held on Friday, October 10, 2014 at Ardmore Baptist Church in Winston-Salem (501 Miller Street). Special thanks to Wake Forest University’s Food, Faith and Religious Leadership Initiative for co-sponsoring the event! The program will run from 9:30am to 3:30pm, with registration starting at 8:30. Arrival snacks and coffee will be provided. The conference theme is “We’re Better Together” and the focus text is Ecclesiastes 4:9-10a.
For more details about the event, please continue reading…
Our last Summit took place in March of 2010, on the very day that President Obama signed the Affordable Care Act into law. That event attracted close to 250 people from across the state, including former Governor Bev Purdue who joined us for lunch. Gary Gunderson, a nationally-recognized faith and health leader, was the keynote speaker.
This year’s event promises to be just as exciting and we would love to have you be a part of it. People of faith, lawmakers, public health professionals, and other members of the community will come together to acknowledge what it means to put our faith in action. We will discuss incorporating health into worship services, advocating for local and state policies that make it easier for individuals to lead healthier lifestyles, and mobilizing youth to create community change.
Dr. Jill Crainshaw, Blackburn Professor of Worship and Liturgical Theology at the Wake Forest University (WFU) School of Divinity, will give the keynote address. In addition to her esteemed faculty position at WFU, Crainshaw is a Teaching Elder in the Presbyterian Church (USA) and a member of the Council’s Governing Board.
We will also hear from faith and health leaders who work in a variety of settings, such as large hospitals, academic institutions and rural communities. Representatives from FaithHealthNC; Faithful Famillies; Duke’s Clergy Health Initiative; Come to the Table; WFU’s Food, Faith and Religious Leadership Initiative; and the UNC Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention will share their knowledge and expertise with us.
Brad Wilson, President and CEO of Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina, will offer remarks during lunch, after which we will recognize congregations in our state that are taking great strides to improve the health of their members. Some of their activities include: becoming breastfeeding-friendly; installing AEDs and being trained in CPR; increasing access to local, healthy foods; and creating an overall culture of health and wellness at their place of worship.
Immediately following the seasonally inspired lunch, we will have an opportunity to move about… We’ll have exhibitors from health organizations across the state; a meditation room; hands-on activities, like making your own worm bin, potting soil and container plant; and a Zumba class (so don’t forget your sneakers)!
Afternoon workshops will provide vital instruction on how to improve: 1) your own health, 2) the health of mothers and babies through breastfeeding, 3) the health of your entire congregation through PHW Certification and Congregational Nurse Programs, 4) the health of your community through healthy food pantries and shared use agreements, 5) the health of our state through strong public health advocacy, and 6) the health of our youth.
Finally, the day will end as wonderfully as it began with a closing worship service on faith and health led by Dr. Gary Gunderson. Gunderson is Vice President of the Division of Faith and Health Ministries at the Wake Forest University Medical Center. And, as noted before, he helped to kick-off our very first PHW Faith and Health Summit in 2010 by giving the keynote address, which sparked a valuable discussion among faith and health stakeholders in our state.
