As of August 25, 2022 we were 3 weeks away from THE Faith and Health Summit. We are watching registration numbers, COVID numbers, finalizing schedules and workshops, ironing out hiccups and excitedly thinking about all the faces we have missed seeing over the past two years. Our previous updates can be found here: Update 1 and Update 2. 

We know everyone has been waiting to see the schedule and sign up for their workshops. The schedule went live on Monday August 29 and you can view that here along with our FAQs. Our scheduling at past Summits seems to have worked well, so Faith and Health Summit 2022 will be following the same format. 

Breakfast, coffee and registration happens from 8 am - 9 am. At 9 am we are beyond delighted to have as our proclaimer for the opening worship Rev. Hanna R. Broome. The rest of the day is divided into 3 workshop sessions with 4 offerings during each session. Our workshop sessions have titles such as Healing is More Than Being Cured, Tobacco Youth Panel: Turning the Curve on Youth Smoking and Vaping, Faith and Mental Health: A Holistic Approach to Healing, What Can We Do Now: Healthy Aging for Our Future, Mindful Healthy Eating, Creating Local Faith and Farm Partnerships and more. The speakers are fantastic and choosing which workshop to attend will be a conundrum for sure.

The infamous activity break is back from 1:15 pm - 2 pm and we are happy to have with us the NC Senior Games, Yoga and Guided Meditation being led by Andra West LeBauer and Rev Greg Farrand. New this year is a pop- up farmer’s market in partnership with Come to The Table from 12 pm- 2 pm (during lunch and the activity break). Participant bags will contain a gift certificate that can be used at the farmer’s market.

Check out the schedule on our website.The form to select your workshops is being mailed to registrants. If you haven’t registered yet, what are you waiting for, register here! Faith leaders and health leads can use the discount code: FHsummit2022.

The Partners in Health and Wholeness Team is glad to welcome on board the Rev. Dr. Arlecia Simmons who will serve as the Eastern Regional Associate Director of Partners in Health and Wholeness. Arlecia comes to us with a wealth of industry as well as ministry experience and a robust love for God’s people.

“I first learned about the work of the Council while attending Duke Divinity School, and now it’s exciting to join them in their efforts to strengthen congregations in North Carolina,” she said. “I’m grateful for the opportunity to help with the work that leads to health and wholeness in their communities.”

 Her interest in health and wellness developed as a newspaper reporter covering health issues and new legislation such as HIPAA. Her convictions are rooted in experiences that range from seeing members of her family and community plagued by the many comorbidities that have been amplified during the pandemic. Arlecia, who previously served as a senior pastor of a United Church of Christ congregation in Washington, D.C., believes that religious communities can share in the work of addressing how systemic issues such as gentrification and food and housing insecurity prevent BIPOC people and those in rural communities from thriving.

Arlecia is a native of Charleston, S.C., and is proud of her Gullah Geechee roots. She will be based in Fayetteville and looks forward to connecting with clergy and churches in eastern North Carolina.

I'm Stephenie Sanders, and I am thrilled to join the Partners in Health and Wholeness Team as the new Program and Engagement Administrator. It is an honor to join PHW and the NC Council of Churches to promote health, well-being, and justice in North Carolina faith communities and beyond.

My journey into the faith-based, non-profit sector actually began with my passion for music. I hold a Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance from UNC-Greensboro, and shortly after graduating I took a gig singing at First Presbyterian Church-Greensboro. I had a corporate job at the time, and one of the ministers offered me a job as her assistant. I jumped at the chance to do work that positively impacted my community.

After working at FPC for four years, I made the move to Binkley Baptist Church in Chapel Hill (where NCCC's Executive Director Emeritus, Collins Kilburns, worships!). Binkley has a storied history of being at the forefront of controversial social justice issues. I found great meaning in supporting the church's work for justice and showing compassion to members of the
church and wider community.

I chose to join PHW to work for justice on an even greater scale with an organization that has the infrastructure and resources to make a real and lasting impact. In a time when we are all grappling with the aftershocks of a worldwide pandemic, I can't think of a better place to focus my energy and skills.

I can't wait to learn more about the beautiful faith communities across this great state, to get to know the people who make them beautiful, and to play a small part in helping those communities live healthy, abundant lives. It is my sincere hope that my own experiences with addiction and mental illness will help me effectively serve in this capacity. I'll be your main point of contact for the PHW mini-grant application process. I can be reached at phwinfo@ncchurches.org. I look forward to working together!

According to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention:

• Suicide is the 11th leading cause of death in North Carolina.

• More than three times as many people died by suicide in North Carolina in 2018 than in alcohol-related motor vehicle accidents.

• On average, one person dies by suicide every six hours in North Carolina.

(https://aws-fetch.s3.amazonaws.com/state-fact-sheets/2020/2020-state-fact-sheets-north-carolina.pdf)

September offers us a welcomed opportunity to bring awareness and facts to a needed topic: suicide. Unfortunately, situations involving suicide or thoughts about suicide are more common than we might realize. As people of faith, we can better support those who are impacted by suicide and work to prevent suicide.

We know that as people of faith, we are not immune to suicide in our community, as well as in our congregations. There are resources and trainings available to help prevent suicide. One such training is “LivingWorks Faith.” LivingWorks Faith is a needed, relevant suicide prevention training specifically for people of faith. The intended audience for this training is any person of faith, especially those who find themselves in caring and supporting roles, including clergy, faith leaders, deacons, Stephen ministers, volunteers, and more. 

We all benefit from suicide prevention training, no matter what roles or spaces we share with others. In our efforts to eliminate the stigma around mental health, normalize professional therapy, and become trauma-informed ultimately helps prevent suicide. In addition to trainings such as LivingWorks Faith, we can strengthen our outreach by also using resources such as these:

• Faithconnectionsonmentalillness.org
• https://afsp.org/chapter/north-carolina
• https://theactionalliance.org/sites/default/files/sample_prayers_v3_sm.pdf. 
• The National Suicide Hotline number 1-800-273-8255
• Suicide Prevention Resource Center     Web: http://www.sprc.org   •  E-mail: info@sprc.org  •  Phone: 877-GET-SPRC (438-7772)
• Partners in Health and Wholeness’ mini-grants may be used toward health efforts, including mental health.. You may learn more about attaining a PHW mini-grant here: PHW Collaborative
  

We can raise awareness and strengthen our commitment to care for one another through sermons, programming, book studies, training opportunities, and more. By recognizing September as National Suicide Prevention Awareness Month, we can destigmatize suicide so that our faith communities can become a place in which suicide is prevented or reduced and members who have lost a loved one to suicide can receive compassionate ministry.

This month we recognize National Recovery Month and celebrate everyone who is in recovery, however they define that to be. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) defines recovery as “a process of change through which people improve their health and wellness, live self-directed lives, and strive to reach their full potential.” Just as every person is different, we recognize that recovery can look different for every person. In the upcoming months, the Opioid Settlement funds from lawsuits settled with Johnson & Johnson, McKesson, Cardinal Health, and AmerisourceBergen will be coming into our state. We are calling upon the North Carolina General Assembly and cities and counties tasked with the distribution of these funds to commit to spending their portion of the settlement on measures that will expand evidence-based recovery support services. These services include but are not limited to: syringe access programs, housing, and medication-assisted treatment (MAT). We also call upon these decision-makers to ensure that people with lived experience have a leadership role in the discussions and implementation. (click here to read more)

New grant opportunity! Partners in Health and Wholeness is thrilled to announce a new mental health funding opportunity for BIPOC (Black & Brown, Indigenous, People of Color) faith communities.

Thanks to The Duke Endowment, PHW is able to offer this new grant opportunity of $5,000-10,000 for faith communities of color to apply towards COVID-19 mental health efforts. In mid-2022, we plan to award 50 grants in this funding range throughout the entire state. Later this year, there will be an opportunity to apply for a large grant, up to $50,000, to establish or expand a mental health resource hub in your region. This application period for this grant opportunity will be rolling, with quarterly reviews, from May 2022 until May 2023. Learn more here: PHW BIPOC Mental Health Grant Webpage

This fresh salad makes a great side dish and takes advantage of two seasonal-in-September fruits: apples and muscadine grapes! For a list of other in-season produce check out this chart from NC Agriculture.

Servings: 4

Cook Time: Prep Time: 15 minutes; Total Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:
1 cup Muscadine grapes cut into quarters and seeded
1 Granny Smith apple, cored, halved and thinly sliced
¼ cup Pecans coarsely chopped and toasted
¼ cup Crumbled blue cheese (optional)
2 Celery stalks, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon White-wine vinegar
1 tablespoon Extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
In a large bowl, combine the grapes, apples, pecans, blue cheese, celery, vinegar and oil.  Season with salt and pepper and toss to combine.

North Carolina Senior Games: Volunteers Needed for State Finals!

The NC Senior Games are actively recruiting volunteers for the State Finals. They have events in Clayton and throughout the Triangle on September 7-9, September 19-25, October 14-16 and October 21-23. Check out the volunteer page of the NC Senior Games website for complete schedule and sign-up form:  www.ncseniorgames.org/volunteer

 The PHW Collaborative Pledge is open as of January 15, and the first PHW Mini-Grant Cycle of 2022 opened as of June 01. The PHW Collaborative Pledge is a commitment to continuing a journey of putting faith into action in your community. Through the Collaborative Pledge, we aim to promote connections and relationships among our faith communities to share wisdom, provide support, and build a community around health and wholeness. Click here to take the Collaborative Pledge.

 The PHW Mini-Grant allows PHW Collaborative faith communities to support projects that promote health and wholeness while engaging the community. Faith Communities are able to request up to $1000 for an individual mini-grant, and up to $5000 for a community mini-grant among a minimum of three faith communities. Faith communities must have submitted a PHW Collaborative Pledge in the last 12 months for their application to be considered. Community mini-grants are limited. For more information please reach out at PHWinfo@ncchurches.org. Please click here to learn more about PHW Mini-Grants and how to apply

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