March is National Nutrition Month and a wonderful opportunity for people and communities of faith to reflect on our stories of nourishment and to think intentionally about how we nourish ourselves, our families, and our communities. How can you support communities and individuals, to make the healthy choice the easy choice?  Here are a few simple tips, reminders, and guiding questions from MyPlate.gov and the Faithful Families Thriving Communities program that you might consider this month (and beyond):

The PHW Collaborative is open to any faith community that holds regular religious services in an established place of worship in the state of North Carolina. We welcome partnerships with communities of all faith traditions.

The first step to joining The PHW Collaborative is to fill out our Collaborative Pledge Form. By submitting this form, you are telling us that you are committed to continuing a journey of putting faith into action. Once your Collaborative Pledge is accepted, you will be eligible for a grant from PHW. Click here to join The PHW Collaborative.

BIPOC (Black & Brown, Indigenous, People of Color) faith communities are invited to apply for a special mental health grant through PHW. There are two opportunities within the grant: A $5,000-10,000 award towards your mental health ministry and an award, up to $50,000, to establish a community mental health resource hub. Both grants are open until May 5, 2023. Please contact The Rev. Jessica Stokes at jessica@ncchurches.org if you have any questions. More information can be found here.

NC Senior Games will join PHW to discuss ways older adults in our faith communities can get involved in the NC Senior Games, as participants, volunteers or both.

Are you interested in learning more about the state of our state when it comes to opioids? Are you interested in learning more about ways your congregation can get involved with the Opioid Crisis?

If so please join the Council in Fayetteville, N.C. for the Opioid Crisis, the Faith Community Responds. At this breakfast, you will learn about the state of our state, what is harm reduction, and what congregations can do to get involved.

Join us for a four part series focused on strengthening the food and faith aspect of your health ministry. Details and registration information coming soon.

April 13, 2023: Faith Health Connection: Community Gardening: How to Establish a Community Garden: It’s All In The Details.

April 26, 2023: Sacred Conversations: Successful Faith and Food Partnerships. Hear from clergy leaders and laity on how their faith communities have partnered with farmers to establish a sustainable and successful long term food and faith ministry.

May 11, 2023: Join us as we host Kim Eshleman, Faith Community Liaison to hear about Faithful Families Thriving Communities program which engages faith communities in health education, environmental changes to support health, and community-wide health initiatives. 

May 18 2023: Healthy Eating: Incorporating Healthy Habits and Why It Should Matter To Faith Communities

We are participating in Interfaith Power & Light’s annual premier week of worship and action focused on climate - Faith Climate Action Week 2023! This year’s theme is Living the Golden Rule: Just transition to a clean energy economy.

We will examine our responsibility to transition to energy sources that safeguard our common home, and how our faiths call us to respond with just solutions for all. Make it a focus of your Earth Day worship services and be part of the solution with the suggested actions in the organizer’s kit. Find resources for sermons, talks, worship services, theme-based discussion materials, a film screening kit for the featured film, Current Revolution, and more.