Inter-America: Health Summit focuses on long-term community outreach
Image by Libna Stevens/IAD
March 30, 2013 – Orlando, Florida, United States…Libna Stevens/IAD
The message was clear: Every church must strive to serve the needs of its community by becoming a health, as well as hope, center. This was the resounding theme heard during a four-day health summit which brought more than 220 health professionals and health directors from throughout the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Inter-America to Orlando, Florida, from Mar. 20-23, 2013.
Belkis Archbold, health ministries director for the church in Inter-America challenges health professionals and health directors to carry out the health message using Christ’s method of caring for others. Image by Libna Stevens/IAD
“For more than 100 years as a church we have had a health message to share and for many of those years, we have kept it to ourselves,” said Belkis Archbold, health ministries director for the church in Inter-America and organizer of the summit.
“We must strive to awaken our church members to eat healthy, live healthy and care for others as part of our Christian duty in proclaiming the Three Angel’s Message,” said Archbold.
Putting into action Christ’s method of healing and serving was a driving message of the summit, explained Archbold, and one that goes along with the Adventist world church’s recent call for members to pursue a personal spiritual revival. The church is also calling on each church to promote the health message throughout communities and cities around the globe.
Allan Handysides, M.D., health ministries director for the Adventist world church, addressed the Inter-American Division (IAD) health delegation to seek daily spiritual revival and open their hearts to those in need, ( making church meaningful.
“The blessings we must bring to the community must be real and tangible and the health centers can range from a cabbage patch, cooking classes, preventive health practices, spiritual counseling, drug counseling, dealing with inner issues of the person, conflict issues, addictions and so much more,” said Handysides. “We need to focus on the whole person. The world needs more empathy and not sympathy.”
It’s about being intentional in taking the challenge of caring for young and old who are facing serious addictions inside and outside the church, said Peter Landless, M.D., associate health ministries director for the Adventist world church.
Dr. Allan Handysides (center), health ministries director for the Adventist world church answers questions alongside his associate directors Dr. Peter Landless (left) and Dr. Fred Hardinge (right) at a panel discussion during day four of Inter-America’s Health Summit on Mar. 24, 2013, in Orlando, Florida. Image by Magda Salinas/IAD.
Summit presenters from Adventist world church and Loma Linda University answered questions during a discussion panel on issues ranging from faith and healing, health reform terminology, dealing with cyber bullying, vegetarian diet, intake of vitamin B12, homeopathy treatments, to reversing alcoholism and diabetes, as well as public relations in establishing a health center.
Driving that message of establishing a health community center within each church has been easier said than done throughout Inter-America, according to Archbold. With a lack of a full time health ministries director at each post from the local church level to conference and union levels and maximizing the knowledge of health professionals in each congregation, the task of establishing health community centers continues to be a challenge in the territory, yet one that is vital for a Christ-loving church, explained Archbold. “No longer can our churches be dormant with the health message. We must share it on a regular basis,” she said.
Pastor Israel Leito, president of the church in Inter-America, agreed that there are challenges but encouraged every health professional and health ministries director to commit to educating the church and make a lasting impact in the community.
“The church needs you to teach workers and church members to be healthy so they can be effective in sharing that health message to others,” said Pastor Leito. “We want you to realize that this is one of the most important ministries of the church so continue teaching, continue preaching and continue training.”
President of the church in Inter-America Pastor Israel Leito (left) delivers the Sabbath message challenging health leaders to commit to educating church members to make a lasting impact in their communites, while Dr. Carlos Archbold translates. Image by Magda Salinas/IAD
Pastor Leito’s charge is the main task at hand for the more than 200 health leaders who attended the summit and for the thousands more across Inter-America who will be trained by them in the weeks and months to come.
An intensive health initiative has already been taking place by the church in North Mexico with a special interactive program focused on teaching children to develop healthy habits and in turn motivate parents to do the same. Created by Pastor Antulio Espinoza and entitled “I want to be Healthy”, the program has benefitted dozens of schools and communities in the region.
“We want to take this program to the rest of the 21 unions and local fields in our territory,” said Archbold. She mentioned that the program is already translated into English and French and several other health initiatives are running across Inter-America.
The summit included training sessions on the significance of the church’s 150-year-old health message, and how to reverse killer diseases, engage in positive relationships, pursue meaningful health ministries in the church and community, how to conduct soul-winning cooking schools, and disarm diabetes. There were also seminars about emotions and health, reducing risk behavior among youth, fear and stigma of HIV, alcoholism’s bigger picture, medical missionary evangelism, children’s and adult health expo, and more.
For Pastor David Maldonado, health ministries director for the church in the Sonora Conference in North Mexico, serving the community in his territory has been something in the works for over two years. In the City of Obregon in Sonora, a Community Service Center has been operating. “It functions as a church but it looks more like a center and has had a tremendous impact in the community.” Equipped with a kitchen and several rooms, the center has been teaching music, sewing, vegetarian cooking, exercise, and crafts for children, young people and adults. In addition, soccer and baseball tournaments are held throughout the year, according to Maldonado.
“This community center began with a simple survey conducted by church members in the area to find out what could connect them to its community better,” said Maldonado. “Out of that survey, various classes began and people started to want to come to church services every Sabbath.”
“The church in turn has grown and the connection with the community has brought meaning to the church,” explained Maldonado. There is another center built behind the Adventist Church in Palo Verde where bakery classes have began, added Maldonado.
Adventist Community Service Center in Sonora is one of several centers operated by the church to teach a number of classes to benefit its surrounding community. Image courtesy of David Maldonado/IAD
Connecting and building relationships is what is going to make the difference with community centers, stressed health experts during the summit. Health professionals brainstormed on how to implement strategies to connect with community leaders and health professionals in their communities.
“Meaningful connections will make the difference but the pastor and his local congregation must be fully supportive of the task,” added Maldonado. “The relationship with the community needs to be a long-lasting relationship that needs nurturing.”
Relationships with high standing government officials and leaders will also make a difference, said Archbold.
The church already signed a memorandum of understanding in 2011 with the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) that formalizes collaboration in implementing health projects in the Americas, especially on the outlined goals of promoting health, strengthening disease prevention and contributing to achieving the United Nation’s Millennium Development Goals. These goals include the needy communities of Nicaragua, Guyana, Honduras, and Haiti, among others.
“We must work together with PAHO to implement combined activities, share information and develop projects in each of our countries,” said Archbold.
Health directors from each of the countries vowed during the summit to work closely with PAHO in their respective countries to assist in community projects in order to provide free preventive primary health care.
Dr. Edinora Brooks, a general practitioner and medical director for the Adventist Valle de Angeles in Honduras and health ministries director for the church in Honduras, said the PAHO partnership and the ministry of health in Honduras will make it possible for greater coordination of church member volunteers to assist in dozens of poor communities spread out throughout the country.
With only two months of being at her new post, Brooks was inspired throughout the summit and plans on fully training its health directors and members on jumping on board in collaboration with PAHO and also coordinating for churches to become more connected with the needs of its surrounding community.
“We are a church with a special health message for this end times and we need to be useful,” she said. “We are instruments of bringing healing to today’s health problems.”
For Priscilla Prevost, nurse practitioner and health ministries director for the church in Barbados and Dominica, sharing the message of healthy living is more than just bringing awareness to the public through health screenings.
“We need to be involved in helping the public in weight management, in actively reversing diabetes, and risk behavior reduction, not just once a year,” said Prevost. “We need to teach our community members how to change their health habits and hone in the health professionals in our communities to work with them.”
Thanks to that belief, said Prevost, a number of ministries are in place in Barbados to teach primary and secondary students about healthy habits, and to provide support groups for depression, diabetes management and cancer patients.
“Much more needs to be done in the long-term,” added Prevost, “and a center of hope or a community health center will give us a better opportunity as a church to care for the physical and spiritual needs of people – just as Jesus did.”
More than 220 delegates from across the church in Inter-America participated in the first territory-wide health summit last week. Image by Libna Stevens/IAD
Propelling the church towards establishing community health centers will mean an integration and collaboration among leaders, ministries and committed members who care far beyond its church walls to offer something beneficial to the community, said Archbold.
Dr. Handysides echoed Archbold’s statement and said health leaders must serve out of love.
“We can talk all we want, how we have this wonderful message but if we don’t have this opportunity to make it powerful and be spread in the community, it looks that we are self-promoting, self-conscience and concerned with our own education,” said Handysides.
“Do your health ministry because you love people, because you want to create a better community because you are longing for a healthier society,” said Handysides. “You’ll be surprised how people can identify with that message more easily.”
For more on Inter-America’s Health Summit, go to health.interamerica.org
To view more a photo gallery of the event, click here