Faith Community Nursing and Health Ministry
Faith community nurses, lay health advocates and other health ministers are people with professional training in a health related field who use their background to serve the needs of the church community. A parish nurse is a registered nurse with additional training in holistic ministry, helping members of the congregation to become more aware of their health and move toward a fuller sense of wholeness.
A health ministry combines the therapeutic qualities of church, community, and faith in God to strengthen the healing task.
What Faith Community Nurses Do
Faith Community nurses engage in a variety of ministries:
Make referrals to community resources and provide assistance in obtaining needed health services.
Assist members in adapting to important lifestyle changes.
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Teach classes on how to maintain good health.
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Provide health screenings.
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Develop support groups within the church.
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Train and coordinate volunteers.
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Faith community nurses are not expected to provide patient care in the church or at a patient’s home. They are a source of referrals for services available in the community. They coordinate existing services and supplement them with a holistic dimension of health and caring.
Our Faith Community Nurse is Michele Sorenson and can be contacted atsorensonmb@aol.com