Wednesday, April 28, 2004

Health conference May 12-14

District Four Health Services and its collaborative partners are hosting a three-day conference titled “Aligning Faith and Health: Seasons of Opportunities.” The event is scheduled for May 12-14 at Gordon College in Barnesville.

This is the third annual “Aligning Faith and Health” conference. This year’s theme captures the unique circumstances we face in the midst of expanding opportunities for public health and faith based organizations to collaborate. The collaboration is influenced by the desire of health professionals to create strategic partnerships to inform and educate the faith community, and the necessity of faith leaders to engage the theology of health and healing in response to the challenges that are attacking the members of their congregations.

Highlights for the conference include a full day of skill-building training offered by national leaders in topics such as leadership, grant-writing and spirituality and health.

Rev. Dr. Gary Gunderson, Director of Emory University Interfaith Health Program, will provide an opening address May 12 on the topic of boundary leadership, titled “Reframing Leadership: tools for Leading in the Boundary Zones.”

Dr. Oakley Ray, Professor Emeritus from Vanderbilt University, will provide a keynote address May 14 on healing and spirituality, titled “How the Mind Hurts and Heals the Body.”

The goals of the conference include:

• Developing partnerships for faith based community health initiatives.

• Equipping faith leaders with the tools to equip congregational leaders to address health concerns.

• Initiating relationships for health and wellness promoters to understand health in a faith context.

• Providing examples of best practices for congregational health ministries and to highlight how health professionals strengthen and inform those programs.

Registration materials can be accessed at www.threeriversahec.org/healthfaith04.htm or by calling 706-660-2499.