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 The Faith and Health Perspective, October 2020
Autumn Harvest

I feel a fondness for Anne of Green Gables when she said “I’m so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers.” There is wide disagreement among the PHW team on favorite seasons. Last year I learned there are folks who actually enjoy the feeling you get when you sit down in a hot car in North Carolina. (Ahem… Michelle) Imagine! For me, the clear favorite has always been fall. The leaves changing, the evenings finally bringing cool breezes, and the anticipation of the plants and flowers that will slumber for a season but return to greet us in the spring.

Like so many of you, we have had a summer full of hard work and a year of hard challenges. In this edition we are highlighting the most recent harvest of that work, in the hope it brings you valuable information and tools for use in your ministry. Whatever your favorite time of year, we wish for you an abundant harvest and a slower pace as we prepare for winter and the sacred holiday season.

- Chris Pernell, PHW Program Director
Featured Articles and Resources
October is National Substance Use Prevention Month 

By Elizabeth Brewington, Opioid Response Program Coordinator 

"What if we reframed prevention around beloved community instead of abstinence-only? Instead of telling people to 'just say no,' we all engaged in saying 'yes' to building community. If instead of using education to incite fear, we used it to educate kids about mental health, adverse childhood experiences, and community building."
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Sacred Series Toolkit: Becoming a Trauma-Informed Faith Community  

By the Rev. Jessica Stokes, Associate Director of Partners in Health and Wholeness, Statewide Mental Health Advocacy

Please use the Sacred Series Toolkit: Becoming a Trauma-Informed Faith Community alongside our Part I and Part II recordings, which offer an overview of helpful strategies in becoming a trauma-informed faith community.
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Mental Health and Race: Barriers, Ideas, and Sacred Work (Part I)   

By the Rev. Jessica Stokes, Associate Director of Partners in Health and Wholeness, Statewide Mental Health Advocacy

"Mental health concerns and conditions can impact anyone, regardless of race. However, there is tremendous inequity in mental health care due to the disparities found in socioeconomic levels, immigrant status, education, public resources, rural access, and more. These disparities are caused by long-existing systems that further oppress people of color."
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Events
Sacred Conversation: The Spirituality of Loneliness in Life's Second Chapter 
 

We are pleased to extend an invitation to attend our next Sacred Conversation: The Spirituality of Loneliness in Life's Second Chapter taking place this Friday, October 30, at 11 a.m.

Covid-19 has revealed yet another epidemic among us: of loneliness and isolation. The challenges they present to mental health and spiritual well-being can be particularly difficult for those in the second chapter of life, including people of faith, and faith leaders. Yet too often, stigma and a misconception of the root causes of loneliness and isolation can leave those affected to suffer in silence. Please join the PHW team and Caleb Pusey, spiritually integrated psychotherapist with CareNet in Marion, NC, as he engages storytelling and evidence-based evaluation tools to provide a way forward for congregations to begin deep conversations around the source of loneliness and isolation in older adults -- most especially during the time of Covid -- to bring understanding, hope, and healing.

Click the magenta button below to register.

We encourage you to also watch this brief preview from our featured guest, Caleb Pusey, and read this short written piece by Karen Richardson Dunn, PHW Associate Director of Healthy Aging, that details the impacts of loneliness and social isolation in our communities.

We look forward to sharing this time together.  
 
REGISTER
Check out our full events page here to keep up with PHW program events and community-based events across the state related to faith, health, and justice.
Healing Together: Making Our Voices Heard

Over the past couple months, we have felt the challenges of maintaining connection and personal well-being from a distance. On top of these challenges, we are in the midst of an election season. We know that it can feel overwhelming trying to stay up to date; that's why we've compiled a short list of educational resources and actions you can take this election season to ensure each of our votes counts:

We encourage you to browse and share these resources. We hope that you feel empowered, and always remember that you are important and your voice needs to be heard. 
Stay in Touch

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