Parish Nursing Inc. comes to Roberts Wesleyan College Division of Nursing

What is Parish Nursing?

Parish Nursing is a Congregational Health Team Ministry which seeks to recover the practice of caring for the sick and dying then way Jesus did.  Specific tasks and concerns include the following:

HEALTH COUNSEL – Discuss concerns with church and community people – often as a means of outreach.  Parish Nurses do not perform “hands on” nursing care.

EDUCATE – Promote understanding in church and community of the relationship between lifestyle, attitudes, faith and wellness.

ADCOVATE – Support sick people and families facing health systems complexities.

LIAISON – Share awareness of available government and community resources.

TEACH – Instruct people in the church and community, and train volunteers regarding health related issues through newsletters, talks, classes, and bulletin boards.

HEAL – Probably the most significant contribution: praying with sick and needy people.

Why have Parish Nurses when there are governmental agencies?

The most compelling reason to have Parish Nurses is that Christians are called to care for the sick and dying the way Jesus did.  As Eugene Petersen expresses it in The Message,

“the Word [becomes] flesh and blood and [moves] into the neighborhood” (John 1:9).  Communities are filled with hurting people who long for today’s Good Samaritan to touch them with expert tender loving care.  Government programs may be good, but they will never be enough.

As the health care system becomes more technologized, the need for advocates increases for often individuals are too sick to muster the energy and time to deal with the system.  Families may lack information about resources that are available.  Parish Nurses in their role as liaisons provide a crucial “connecting link”.

A further reason to have Parish Nurses is that they are there to pray with the sick and their families in moments of greatest need.  Health team members can lift sufferers into the presence of the One who is the true healer.

MISSION STATEMENT FOR PARISH NURSING INC.

In concert with other healthcare providers, caregivers, and the ministerial staff, and using Jesus as our model, parish nurses will use their gifts, abilities, and networking resources to facilitate and promote congregational and community wholeness and health.

Parish Nursing, Inc is connected to the Free Methodist Church of North America and is partnering with other holiness denominations such as the Church of the Nazarene and the Wesleyan Church to promote health-related ministries within a Wesleyan theological context.

Free Methodist Parish Nursing, Inc. Roberts Wesleyan College

Division of Nursing, 2301 Westside Drive, Rochester, NY 14624

Email: www.roberts.edu/nursing

New 2007 Seminar Brochure update

Parish Nursing Free Methodist Church