St. Paul's Church ~ Beaufort, NC

Office Hours:

Tuesdays 10-12pm & by appt.

Blood Pressure Checks

Thursdays 10-12pm

Exercise Class

Mondays 10-11 am

Parish Health Ministries

What Are Parish Health Ministries and Parish Nursing?

Health, healing and wholeness in body, mind and spirit is a short explanation. Parish Health Ministries is a part of congregational caring programs or commissions. It helps members of the church address all aspects of their spiritual, physical and emotional well-being-the total person. The church becomes a community of caring, acknowledging that faith and health are interwoven and cannot be separated. Health Ministries does not run clinics or provide health care in the traditional sense. But it may work together with other agencies such as Hospice, Meals on Wheels or physical therapy to provide a better understanding of an illness or treatment. It is a group of trained volunteers providing health-related activities and service to its parishioners.

Parish Nursing is a component of Parish Health Ministries and is a concept born out of the understanding of the healing ministry of the church. It recognizes the need for health-related activities that focus on the whole person with emphasis on wellness, disease prevention and health promotion. The parish nurse is the leader of the health ministries team as well as the link between faith and health, helping people connect what they believe with life choices. She/he can serve in many ways: health educator and promoter, counselor, referral agent, health advocate, and as the connection with other health professionals and agencies.

Here at St. Paul’s, we have a pastoral care commission in place which is active and busy. It includes sick and shut-in visitation, meals for the sick and bereaved, transportation teams, and the Loss and New Life Group. As we add Parish Health Ministries, we will expand our ‘caring congregation’ work to include the challenges of health and illness and its related issues. For example, we educational programs on medical topics of interest to our members, conduct blood pressure screenings, offer one-on-one counseling, help with understanding of diagnoses and treatment, and assist Fr. John and Fr. Paul with pastoral care as needed.

This is a new and exciting path we are heading down at St. Paul’s. I look forward to learning more about it personally and working with Fr. John and you as we expand our pastoral care ministries. If you have questions or would like to be a part, please call me at 728-7171 or the church office.

Thank you,
Ginny Poindexter, RN, BSN - Parish Nurse