Faith healing takes on a new meaning when it comes to parish nurses.
“Parish nursing is a valuable ministry because we can be advocates, teachers and faith healers,” said Carrie Weinreich, who was a parish nurse for 10 years at Grace Lutheran Church in North Tonawanda.
Weinreich and Louis Smith of the Parish Nursing Institute of Western New York are sending out a call to all medical professionals in the Niagara region, inviting them to an interfaith seminar in Niagara Falls where they can learn about healing more than bodies.
“There’s a lot of difference between having nurses in your parish and having a parish nurse,” explained Smith, who is a parish nurse at a church in Buffalo.
“A parish nurse can advocate, make referrals and teach parishioners about medical issues,” she said.
Parish nurses provide their congregation with medical information, hold regular health screenings and encourage healthy living. In one case, Weinreich instituted a walk for both the body and the spirit that was called “Walking to Jerusalem.” Both women counsel parishioners who are grieving and assist those who are newly released from the hospital with discharge plans, as well as tending to simple health care questions from their communities.
• WHO: Parish Nursing Institute of Western New York
• WHAT: Informational seminar on parish nursing open to anyone in the medical profession and church leaders of every faith.
• WHEN: 9:30 a.m. July 14
• WHERE: Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church, 1004 Michigan Ave., Niagara Falls.
• MORE INFORMATION: Call the Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church office at 284-4357.
The Rev. William Nelson-Loefke, or Pastor Bill as he is known at Zion Evangelical, said he invited the Parish Nursing Institute to hold a seminar in his parish in an effort to further reach out into the Niagara community and maintain his church as a “safe place.”
“The old model of churches was that you build it, and they will come. The new model is that the church goes into the community,” he said.
“We have an incredible commitment to this community, and it is precisely part of our mission to do this,” he said.
Nelson-Loefke said he hopes to get a parish nurse in each faith community in the Niagara region, whether Christian or Jewish or Muslim, and then hold ongoing conferences and training to support them.
Medical professionals will also be welcomed at the seminar, Weinreich said, because each parish nurse requires a volunteer health cabinet made up of up to a dozen medical professional professionals. Church leaders are also invited to attend and learn more about the concept as well.
The seminar will be held at 9:30 a.m. July 14 at Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church, 1004 Michigan Ave., Niagara Falls. There will be a brief worship followed by a continental breakfast prior to the informational meeting.
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