Emmanuel AME Church in Durham, NC is connecting mind, body, and spirit through the work of their health commission. Chairperson and health-lead Shirley L. Smith describes in more detail how they have incorporated practices of health wholeness into their ministry through a health fair they hosted in April:
“Our commission on health is working diligently to continue to educate the members and friends of Emmanuel, and members of the community. We realize it can be difficult to get people to attend and participate in lectures, workshops and other educational events. This is why on April 14th, 11:30 am – 1:30 pm, we planned and presented to our members and visitors A Walk through Health Fair.
Immediately following our 10 am morning worship service, the congregation was encouraged to join us in the fellowship hall to get their blood pressure and a fasting blood sugar checked. Participants were offered a healthy snack following the check. Thirty plus attended the Walk through and approximately half got their blood pressures and blood sugars checked. We are planning to have a bigger and broader Health Fair in the spring to include more of the community. We plan to include more educational lectures on current health issues later in the year. We have a team of nurses and educators who are willing to work together to educate ourselves and others. With the financial aid of the Partners in Health and Wholeness, an initiative of the NC Council of Churches, we can finance our efforts. There were photos taken during the event, please let me know if you would like to see them. This is the second walk through the Council of Churches has witnessed.”
Thank you to Shirley L. Smith and the congregation at Emmanuel AME Church for making healthy living a priority in your faith community. We are so grateful to lift up the work of our partners who provide the foundation for this work. If you’d like to learn more or get involved in Emmanuel AME’s health ministry, feel free to contact Shirley at smishrl9@twc.com.