January 2020                                                  Vol 1, Issue 1                          

Welcome!
Welcome to the Faith and Health Perspective, the newsletter brought to you by Partners in Health and Wholeness (PHW). This newsletter will provide you program updates, details about upcoming events, updates from our congregation and resources partners, fun recipes, resources, and so much more!

The work of PHW is defined by our collaborative network of faith communities and partnerships who are on the ground doing this work every day. This newsletter will serve not only to provide updates, but to strengthen our collaborative partnerships and tell the stories of our network creating communities around health and wholeness.
Program Updates 
PHW Collaborative

Last Wednesday, January 15, the 2020 PHW Collaborative application opened. The Collaborative allows us to partner with faith communities as they seek to live more healthy, whole, abundant lives. We facilitate connections and relationships between our congregations to build a community of support around health and wholeness. We want to recognize depth, sustainability, and the good work that congregations of all sizes are doing, not only to promote health, but to live it out in their communities. Click here to learn more and begin your application!
 
Western Summit 

We invite you to join us at the fourth PHW Faith and Health Summit and first Western North Carolina Faith and Health Summit on March 13, 2020 in Hickory, NC! We will spend time together reflecting on the unique needs in rural communities surrounding access to mental health resources, healthy aging and community engagement, and the faith community's response to the opioid crisis. 

Our keynote speaker will be Wayne Dickert, pastor of Bryson City United Methodist Church. We are excited to have clergy and health leads from congregations leading some workshops at this year’s Summit and a Community Garden Tour of First UMC Hickory’s Paradise Garden. 

Come join us in worship, connection, and fellowship. Click here to register! For questions, contact Nicole Johnson at nicole@ncchurches.org, or Karen Richardson Dunn at karen@ncchurches.org.
Clergy Breakfast 

We invite you to join us at our next clergy breakfast in response to the opioid crisis in Lincolnton, NC on April 21.

These breakfasts are designed to engage participants in conversation surrounding the state of our state regarding the opioid crisis, harm reduction principles, and how to get involved in your community.

Click here to reserve your seat! For questions contact Elizabeth Brewington, Opioid Program Response Coordinator, at elizabeth@ncchurches.org.
Faith & Health: Making the Climate Connection  

We are excited to announce a webinar series in partnership with our colleagues at NC Interfaith Power & Light and the North Carolina Council of Churches focusing on environmental health! Join us for our first of these webinars, entitled “Faith & Health: Making the Climate Connection” on Tuesday, January 28th, from noon-1:00pm. Click here for more details and to register!
Recipes! 
Garden Lasagna with Chicken
 

Thanks to Diabetic Living Magazine for this lasagna recipe that is easy on the body and the wallet. This recipe makes 8 servings: 

1 tbsp. olive oil
2 cups chopped fresh cremini or button mushrooms
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup packed fresh baby spinach, finely chopped
1 24-26-oz. jar marinara sauce
1 1/2 cups shredded cooked chicken breast
1 8-oz. can no-salt added tomato sauce
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 cup coarsely shredded yellow summer squash, squeezed dry in paper towels
1 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup chopped pitted Kalmata olives (optional)
1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper
8 whole grain lasagna noodles
1 1/2 cups shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese (6 oz.)
Grated Parmesan cheese and fresh oregano leaves (optional)

1. In a 10-inch skillet, heat oil over medium-high. Add mushrooms and garlic; cook 3 minutes or until tender, stirring ocassionally. Stir in spinach; cook and stir 30 seconds. Remove from heat. Stir in marinara sauce, chicken, and tomato sauce.

2. In a medium bowl combine the next six ingredients (through crushed red pepper).

3. Coat a 5- to 6-qt. oval slow cooker with nonstick cooking spray. Spread 1/2 cup of the ricotta mixture. Top with 1 cup of the sauce mixture and about 1/3 cup of the mozzarella cheese. Repeat noodle, ricotta, sauce, and mozarella layers three more times.

4. Cover and cook on high 2.5 hours or until noodles are tender and center of lasagna registers at least 160°F. Turn off slow cooker. If possible, remove liner from slow cooker. Let stand, covered, 30 minutes. Slice into eight equal pieces. If desired, top with additional Paremsan cheese and oregano.

Nutrition facts per serving (1 piece each):
CAL 331, FAT 11 g (5 g sat. fat), CHOL 71 mg, SODIUM 523 mg, CARB 35 g (6 g fiber, 10 g sugars), PRO 24 g
Vegan Cheddar Broccoli Soup
 

Thanks to health-lead Renee-Lea Currie with Philadelphia Seventh Day Adventist Church for this kid-approved vegan cheddar broccoli soup recipe:


1 can coconut milk 
1 1/2 package Daiya vegan cheddar shreds
1/4 cup vegan R.U.M. seasoning*
1 package frozen broccoli (organic if available)
1 tbsp. avocado oil or red palm oil
1/4 cup finely chopped sweet yellow onion
1/4 cup finely chopped organic carrots
3/4 cup water
Dump it all in a pot and cook until your desired texture.


*Renee's Umami Max = R.U.M. = 1 part dried sliced shitake mushrooms + 2 parts water from canned chickpeas (or cooked chickpea water). Marinate in the refrigerator for 3 days in a glass jar/container. Use re-purposed glass spaghetti jars. Save the fluid full of umami flavor.
Spotlight
PHW Eastern Summit

This month we are excited to share highlights from our Eastern Summit that took place in Winterville, NC on October 25, 2019. We were so privileged to host this at Emmanuel Community Unison Baptist Church, a PHW Collaborative member Church!

The theme of the event was “Mindful Together: Our Health Connects Us to Each Other and God,” challenging us to reflect on the unique health issues affecting Eastern NC through a lens of hope and faith.

The day started off with an inspirational sermon from the Reverend Dawn Baldwin Gibson, Executive Pastor of Peletah Ministries, on the importance of addressing mental health and trauma through the lens of faith. 

The day continued with conversations around food and faith led by Justine Post with Resourceful Communities, followed by discussion surrounding creation care and health.

We then moved into our second portion of the day with a lunch session led by the Reverend Jessie Garner, pastor of Open Arms Community Church. Rev. Garner shared his experiences with the opioid crisis and the importance for faith communities to respond with compassion and hope. 

We are so grateful to our partners who came out to spend the day with us in Winterville. We left feeling empowered and energized to continue healing together and building communities rooted in health, wholeness, and abundant living.

We would like to give a special shout-out to Jessica Stokes, Regional Coordinator for Eastern NC, for her dedication and hard work in organizing such a successful event.

We would also like to give a special thanks to Pastor Mary Worsley and health-lead Connie Brown at Emmanuel Community Unison Baptist Church for hosting us in their space. Thank you for walking with us in this important work!
We want to hear from you!

Do you have an upcoming event that you want to promote? Do you have photos from a PHW grant-funded event and/or activity that you would like to share? Send it to us!

Please submit any upcoming events on this page and we will add it to our event calendar and share it within our networks. To share any photos from your health ministry's work, please email Lindsay Barth at lindsay@ncchurches.org. Thank you so much for all of the important work you do!
Thanks to our sponsors! 

Special thanks to The Duke Endowment and the Blue Cross Blue Shield Foundation of North Carolina Foundation for supporting our work.
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