GOING FURTHER - Written by Canon Frank Watts

Study One - The Church and Health

OUR FAVOURITE LINKS we feel are worth a look.
www.helpforchristians.co.uk
http://homr.vicnet.net.au/~ordluke
http://Anglicansonline.org
http://justus.anglican.org/resources/healing/healhome.html
http://www.st-cuthberts.net/healing1.htm
http://www.myhero.com/myhero/hero.asp?hero=mattieStepanek
www.afcna.org.au


Simple Health Survey.
1. How often are the following topics mentioned in your church teaching?
                              Annually           Monthly           Weekly
Nutrition
Exercise/activity
Smoking
Blood pressure
Cardiovascular
Cancer
Alcohol/drugs
Violence
2. Does your church bulletin/magazine ever include health topics?
3. Does your church sponsor or encourage any sports or activities?
4. Does your church sponsor or offer any exercise classes?
5. Does you church sponsor or offer any nutrition classes?
6. Does your church offer or sponsor health screenings for Blood pressure, Cholesterol, Cancer, Vision, Prostate etc.?
7. Does your church have a food pantry or soup kitchen for those in need?
8. How often does your church collaborate with;
                                               Sometimes       often          never
Neighbourhood Associations
Hospitals
Health Department
Voluntary health organisations
Other Churches

 

Worth a thought
What would be the effect if, at every level of its life, the Christian Church took seriously the health and healing dimensions of the Christian faith? Rarely thought of in out time in the context of a health resource, the Church and communities of faith provide both locus and springboard for the provision of health, healing and wholeness, central to the biblical record. Through the years Christ
What would be the effect if, at every level of its life, the Christian Church took seriously the health and healing dimensions of the Christian faith? Rarely thought of in out time in the context of a health resource, the Church and communities of faith provide both locus and springboard for the provision of health, healing and wholeness, central to the biblical record. Through the years Christ’s mission to bring life abundant (John 10.10) to humanity has become part of the reason for being adopted by healthcare systems the world over. .
(MCCormick Theological Seminary Chicago, Illinois.)

The Church of the future? - Maybe!
The Church’s role as a health resource has primarily been lodged in the area of pastoral care. What would pastoral care look like if it took into account a concern for health/ The focus of pastoral care would shift and become much broader. The pastoral care focus would begin to include systems of care; concrete and physical exercises of spiritual discipline; preventative care, the whole life span of individuals; and care for the earth.