by Diana Logan, Parish Nurse
"This is what makes caring for the body a Christian work, that through its health and comfort we may be able to work, to acquire and lay up funds with which to aid those who are in need, that in this way the strong member may serve the weaker…This is a truly Christian life. Here, faith is active in love." –Martin Luther
Not since the time of Martin Luther has the opportunity for discipleship through health ministry been more challenging. In today’s world, the church is often called upon to serve those who suffer in body as well as soul. Historians have named the greatest accomplishment of the 20th Century to be the unprecedented number of us living unprecedented life spans. They project the greatest challenges of the 21st century to be understanding aging and developing social policy to respond to the unprecedented number of elderly. No specific sector of our society is prepared to manage this massive change. Access to appropriate healthcare in our country is often confusing and difficult for relatively healthy people; for the elderly it is sometimes impossible. The Church has a unique potential to care for the frail and sick in our faith communities.
Before a faith community can become a place of health and healing, it must become a place of caring as well. In a culture that values independence and self-sufficiency, care may often be overlooked and undervalued. As a result, more people are seeking help from their churches when they are fearful about their health. St. Andrew’s has many caring people to meet this need. Among those who have answered the call to discipleship in health ministry are pastors, deacons, friendship visitors, prayer intercessors, Stephen Ministers and Parish nurses. To truly become a place of health and caring, we must look to the example Jesus modeled in His lifetime on earth. He did not do His ministry alone–He depended on others. The growing requests from members of our congregation for health information and support have created an interdependency of all the caring ministries at St. Andrew’s. This may indeed reflect a questioning by many of the medical model of healthcare, and a yearning for a connection between one’s faith and health status. It could be that in an age fueled by advances in health technology and characterized by an amazing capacity to exchange information at the speed of light across virtual reality, we crave personal, caring connections and unification with the living God.