partnerships

Bob Smietana 7-01-2013

THE CONGREGATIONAL HEALTH NETWORK began with a simple request from the largest hospital network in Memphis to a group of local pastors: Help us take better care of your people.

Ten years ago, officials at Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare were worried that chronic diseases such as hypertension, diabetes, and obesity were threatening the well-being of local residents and sending health-care costs through the roof.

“People in their 20s were coming to the emergency room in end-stage renal failure,” said Rev. Bobby Baker, a Baptist pastor and director of faith and community partnerships at Methodist Healthcare. “That person is going to be using critical care resources for the rest of their life.”

Hospital officials knew something had to change. They wanted to focus on preventive health care—getting people in to see their doctor long before they were in a crisis. So in Memphis, a city where faith remains a powerful force and more than 60 percent of the population has ties to a religious group, they turned to churches for help. It started small, with a group of about a dozen pastors at churches near Methodist South hospital, in the city’s Whitehaven neighborhood. Those pastors recruited church members to serve as liaisons to the hospital, while the hospital assigned staff to work with churches. That small pilot, first called the Church Health Network, began in 2004.

Two years later, Methodist CEO and president Gary Shorb, along with Rev. Gary Gunderson, the former senior vice president for Methodist’s faith and health division, decided to expand the project system wide. That was the only way to make a significant impact on health outcomes, said Baker. “The thought was that it can’t be a pilot, it can’t be a research project—it really has to be broad reaching,” he said.

Rev. Romal J. Tune 9-01-2012

JUST OVER A year ago, I attended a retreat sponsored by the Fund for Theological Education. During the retreat we were encouraged to look at our lives and to find a personal story that captured the essence of what led us to our particular ministries. That led me to reflect on my childhood: growing up in poverty, attending a different school every year, walking to school with cardboard in the bottom of my shoes because the soles were worn out, wondering how I was going to eat, lacking school supplies at times, and dealing with the stress of a single mother who was a substance abuser.

By reminding me of those things I endured and had to overcome as a child, that exercise helped me tap into my real passion. I wanted to find ways to help children growing up in similar circumstances. I wanted to inspire them to believe in themselves and know that they can make it.

At-risk youth and under-performing students need to be inspired, but equally important is their need for adults who are willing to do the work of helping them succeed academically. Education continues to be our most reliable tool for creating upward life trajectories and optimal opportunities. Churches are more than places where people come in search of a deeper relationship with God; they are also places where people come to find deeper connections with their communities and the possibility of using their gifts and talents to help those in need.

All these forces together compelled me to act on an idea I had more than a year ago: to call on friends from across the country to help create Faith for Change. Faith for Change builds a national network of churches and people of faith committed to implementing proven educational strategies for improving children’s lives.

Helen LaKelly Hunt 12-01-2011

Historically, traditional marriage was based on a subordinate view of women. An egalitarian model of mutual respect promises healthier relationships and a more just society.

Jim Wallis 6-16-2011

We are looking for 1,000 pastors to debunk a myth based on the political assertion that government doesn't have any responsibility to poor people. The myth is that churches and charities alone could take care of the problems of poverty -- especially if we slashed people's taxes. Both this assertion and myth contradict the biblical imperative to hold societies and rulers responsible for how they treat the poor, and ignore the Christian tradition of holding governments accountable to those in need. Faith-based organizations and government have had effective and healthy partnerships, and ultimately, the assertion and myth have more to do with libertarian political ideology, than good theology.

Maryada Vallet 4-26-2011
This week marks the one-year anniversary of the signing of SB 1070 in Arizona, the controversial bill that mobilized thousands around
Jim Wallis 2-10-2011

House Republicans announced a plan yesterday to cut $43 billion in domestic spend

Arthur Waskow 4-12-2010

There is a biblical story in which Samson used the jawbone of an ass to defeat his enemies. Today some politicians seem to think "jawboning" -- talk and more talk, whether sweet or angry -- can actually win peace in the Middle East. But it will take much stronger action.

Jacqueline Klamer 2-12-2010
Three days after a 7.0 earthquake rocked their city, hundreds of Haitians returned to work at SPIA, one of the largest pasta production companies in the country.
Nate Van Duzer 12-28-2009
Does this sound familiar? A poor, minority community experiences high levels of violence and drug dealing. A predominantly white police force sweeps in and arrests many offenders.
Catherine Cuellar 11-12-2009

Residents of the Lone Star state are known as proud folk, but there are a few startling facts that should make everyone -- not just residents of the third-largest metropolitan area in the U.S.

Catherine Cuellar 11-11-2009

For those who came to the Justice Revival's free opening night program (featuring former United Methodist District Superintendent and Texas State House Rep. Dr.

Jim Wallis 11-03-2009

Every day churches across the country respond to the economic crisis by supporting families in need, assisting those in search of a job, and reaching out to people on the back streets of America.

Jim Wallis 10-22-2009

Earlier this month, I was in Dallas for the official launch of Sojourners' next Justice Revival.

Kymberly McNair 9-04-2009
The Poverty Initiative, based at Union Theological Seminary in New York City, has a mission "to raise up generations of religious and community leaders dedicated to building a social movement to en
Mark Brinkmoeller 6-12-2009
"Listen to it loud!" That was the advice that came with a disc of the new film, I Bring What I Love, about Youssou N'Dour, a Senegalese singer who has worked for social justice in Africa.