St. John's Lutheran Church

Health Ministry at St. John's

The Health Ministry Team at St. John's is a group of congregational members who, along with the pastor and the parish nurses, work at promoting and increasing the health and wellness of the members of St. John's.

This ministry is deeply rooted in the Bible. In the Old Testament we read about God’s healing actions, “I will exalt you, O Lord, for you lifted me out of the depths and did not let my enemies gloat over me. O Lord my God, I called to you for help and you healed me” (Psalm 30:1-2). During His life, Jesus devoted much of his time to healing physical, emotional and spiritual brokenness. In addition, His charge to the New Testament Church included Preaching, Teaching, and Healing (Mathew 10:7-8; 28:19-20; Mark 16:18).

The focus of our ministry is on health promotion and disease prevention and the integration of body, mind and spirit rather than "hands on" physical care. This ministry is not a substitute for pastoral care, medical care or community health nursing, but rather a collaborative partnership with these disciplines to offer educational opportunities, a communication network and resources to our congregation and the community we serve.

St. John’s Parish Nurse Program

As part of our commitment to Health Ministry, St. John's has embraced a Parish Nurse Program. Parish nursing is a unique, specialized practice of professional nursing that focuses on the promotion of health within the context of the values, beliefs, and practices of our faith community. It is a health promotion, disease prevention role based on the care of the whole person.

Our parish nurses are specially trained RN’s who serve as members of the ministry staff to promote health as wholeness to St. John’s, its families and individual members, and the community we serve. This is done through the independent practice of nursing as defined by the California Nurse Practice Act and the standards of practice set forth in the Scope and Standards of Parish Nursing Practice. The American Nurses Association’s Congress of Nursing Practice acknowledged Parish Nursing as a specialized practice of professional nursing in February 1998.

The parish nurses, in collaboration with the pastoral staff and congregants, participate in the ongoing transformation of St. John’s into a source of health and healing. It is essential to the success of health ministry that the parish nurses and the clergy work closely together, sharing information and making referrals to one another. Through partnership with other community health resources, parish nursing fosters new and creative responses to health and wellness concerns. Some of the main responsibilities of the parish nurses are:

Health Educator: Educate and support individuals of all ages through a variety of educational activities i.e. classes, newsletters, bulletin boards, guest speakers.

Personal Health Counselor: Discuss health issues and problems with individuals; make home, hospital and nursing home visits as needed.

Integrate Faith and Health: Assist members in identifying more deeply the relationship of the member’s faith with his/her own health.

Referral Source: Acts as a liaison with congregational resources and community services.

Facilitate Program Development: Recruits, coordinates and provides resources to volunteers within the congregation.

Meet regularly with clergy to discuss activities and non-confidential information about health concerns in the congregation.

Maintain confidentiality and appropriate confidential records.

Work closely with the Health Ministry Team to coordinate health promotion activities.

Participate in community networking for parish nursing and health ministry.

We have two parish nurses at St. John's, Cindy Carroll, RN and Susan Carson, RN. Cindy and Susan have both attended specialized training and have been serving as parish nurses in our congregation since June 1996. They share a twenty hour/week position of parish nurses at St. John's. Cindy works Monday, Tueaday & Wednesday from 9:00 AM to 2:00 PM. Susan works Tuesday from 9:00 AM to 2:00 PM. You may contact them by phone at 444-0874 or by email at parishRN@stjohnslc.org.

(916) 444-0874, Fax (916) 444-1205 staff@stjohnslc.org
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Health Ministry at St. John's

St. John’s Parish Nurse Program

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