February was officially American Heart Month, and of course the month many celebrate Valentine's Day. For many North Carolinians, matters of the heart are a serious and sometimes life altering matter. Heart disease, though largely preventable, continues to be the number-one cause of death in the United States. Karen Richardon Dunn, PHW Regional Coordinator shares both her personal experience and ideas for caring for the heart as a people of faith. 

The American Heart Association (AHA), is a nonprofit organization dedicated to fighting heart disease and stroke since 1924. Their website contains a lot of great resources from facts on various heart-related health topics, outlining heart attack and stroke symptoms, to providing tips on maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Click here to visit their website directly, and click here for a summary on our resource page!

"PHW health ministries are involved in deep, soul work. Partners in Health and Wholeness churches ask difficult questions- questions that do not always have an answer, let alone a familiar answer. While promoting a new way of living, working towards healthier lifestyles within their churches, our health leads see a lot."

Jessica Stokes, PHW Regional Coordinator 

"Our staff has been touched by the stories of participants who were older and found that being a part of the challenge made them feel a little less lonely. We laughed, then cried, at the story of a congregation where the challenge had become a race between the men and women, but then turned into so much more when it became a time for folks to talk about their lives and struggles openly."

Nicole Johnson, PHW Regional Coordinator 

The PHW mini-grant cycle is open! A PHW mini-grant allows Collaborative congregations to support projects that engage the community in one of our four cornerstones: healthy eating, physical activity, tobacco cessation, and mental health. Congregations are able to request up to $1000. Congregations must be a member of the PHW Collaborative for your application to be considered. Please click here to browse our FAQs and take the first step by submitting a Collaborative Pledge. 

We invite you to join us on Friday, March 13 at the Western North Carolina Faith and Health Summit in Hickory, NC! We will spend time together discussing 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. 

Wayne Dickert, pastor of Bryson City United Methodist Church, will deliver our keynote address. We are also excited to announce clergy and health leads from PHW congregations will be leading some workshops and sessions!

Click here to register! For questions, contact Nicole Johnson at nicole@ncchurches.org, or Karen Richardson Dunn at karen@ncchurches.org.

Are you a person of faith interested in understanding how the opioid crisis is affecting our state? We invite you to join us at our next clergy breakfast in response to the opioid crisis in Lincolnton, NC on April 21.

During the breakfast, participants are invited to engage 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.

This month we are excited to highlight the work of our friends at the Islamic Association of Raleigh! The Islamic Association of Raleigh have been members of the PHW Collaborative since 2012. One of their program areas that we are especially proud to support is their youth ministry. 

The congregation hosts weekly youth activities and seasonal programs such as summer camps and Spring/winter retreats. All of the programs involve physical activities such as walking, running, and various sports. After the activities have ended, a healthy meal is served to the youth.

The congregation has a gym and play area on the premises where most of the events take place, and occasional offsite places such as parks (barbecuing), mountains (hiking), pools (swimming) and the beach (retreat). The congregation has formed a basketball team (Falcons Elite Travel Team) that requires weekly training, seasonal games, and basketball camps. 

The IAR has created such a wonderful community of health, wholeness, and fellowship for their youth. Not only does IAR provide a strong community important for so many youth, but also the development of health habits during such a crucial time of growth.

We are so grateful for our continued partnership with IAR in this journey of building healthy, whole, abundant communities. 

The PHW Collaborative is open to all communities of faith. We would love to have you join us or if you're already a member, share your story of making the faith-health connection!