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Dear Family & Friends, Greetings in the name of our Loving Savior and Healer! I would like to visit with you about Health & Healing Ministry and specifically my ministry as your Parish Nurse. What is the Healing Ministry of the Church ? In the Old Testament we read about Gods healing actions, ...I will bring health and healing ...I will heal my people and will let them live in abundant peace and security (Jer. 33:6). 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 (Mt.10:7,8; Mt. 28:19,20; Mark 16:18). The ministry of health and healing is central to the life of the church. Many traditional church activities are rooted in a ministry of healing. God has given us Baptism and Communion, His Word and the Liturgy, and Christian Fellowship as gifts of healing! In addition, all Christians are called and enabled to live lives of peace, mercy and healing (James 1:27). What is a Parish Nurse? A Parish Nurse is a Registered Nurse who is educated to assist people towards wholeness through the setting of a congregation. She/he is a member of the Pastoral Team and is committed to the health & healing ministry. The concept of wholeness is rooted in the word Shalom and is a Biblical concept. What activities are the Parish Nurse involved in? Parish Nursing practice involves four basic roles. Together these roles describe the usual activities of a Parish Nurse. First, Parish Nurses are Health Educators as they teach and offer programs designed to help people experience more health and wholeness. An important aspect of these programs is the relationship of faith, fellowship and health. Second, Parish Nurses are Health Counselors as they offer themselves to others during any difficult times as well as when people have any any health and wholeness related concerns. Please contact me if you have any concerns we could visit about. Third, Parish Nurses are Coordinators of Volunteers as they train, enable and support the caring commitment of the church in volunteer based programs. Many volunteer services are already provided by our church, but in developing an intentional health ministry we need the help of many people (people just like you). Fourth, Parish Nurses are Liaisons with the Community as they help people use community resources and serve as a bridge between the life of the congregation and the life of the community. I appreciate the ministry God has blessed me with and I look forward to visiting with you. - Kimberley BizjakCOMPASSIONATE CAREGIVING: THE PRACTICE OF PRAYER IN NURSING How is faith integrated into our everyday lives and professions? As parents, children, siblings, coworkers and fellow church members, we each have our own ways of providing care to one another, as God cares for us I hope you find value in the following illustrations... Sitting humble amidst His followers, on a Galilean hillside, He taught of compassionate caregiving; The Carpenter of Nazareth, the Lamb of God, the Savior of the World, who promised: Whatever you do for my least ones, you do for me! His lesson is so simple; His message is so caring: Give some food to those who are hungry; Give a drink to someone whos thirsty; Welcome strangers; Dress people who need clothes; Visit your brothers and sisters who cant get out; And take care of the sick. Ive not had as much time as Id like to pray lately, Dear God, Dear Lord, if only I could fit more scripture reading into my life, an ICU nurse prays, as she solicitously places some ice chips on a parched tongue of a newly extubated patient. Id love to spend more hours in church with You, dear Lord, an ER nurse implores, as she compassionately helps a homeless stranger onto a waiting guerney. Dear Lord, even when I pray I sometimes feel far away from You, a recovery room nurse admits, as she caringly piles warm blankets on a shivering post-op patient. I want to visit with You much more in prayer, dear Lord, a home care nurse muses, as she lovingly comforts a disabled patient in his loneliness. Dear God, I wish I knew how to pray better, a hospital staff nurse longs, as she gently wraps a blood-pressure cuff around the trembling arm of a new admission. The Lord replies to His nurses: I treasure your desire for intimacy with me: It must always be so, But remember also that I am the hungry elder to whom you tenderly feed a cup of soup; It is I, dear nurse, for whom you care, and in that caring, your nursing is blessed with the gift of My Presence. In that caring, Your nursing becomes your prayer; And I accept it with joy. I am here, ready to serve you. Kimberley | ||||
| 512 McClellan Street · Wausau, WI 54403-4882 Email: info@sslcwausau.com · Phone: (715) 845-7858 · Fax: (715) 842-4202 |
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Health Ministry