At our houses of worship, things have looked different for a while. Many faith communities and their health ministries have mobilized in unprecedented ways to keep their communities healthy and safe. In that spirit, we would like to offer ideas of how to stay connected while we continue loving our neighbors by keeping our distance. We want to encourage all congregations to keep planning and executing events and programs to keep motivation up. We also hope that the below list can offer ideas for how to stay engaged with the PHW Collaborative and use PHW Mini-Grant funds.
- Virtual gatherings (via Zoom or other virtual platforms)
- Online cooking presentations/challenges
- Weekly church dinners
- Workshops focused on specific health topics
- Movie nights
- Book club – meet weekly or monthly to discuss a book, podcast, and/or any other designated reading
- Exercise classes (yoga, aerobics, stretching)
- Online trainings/educational sessions
- Host a series on how Covid has shifted the idea of “church” and how this has created new ideas as how to “DO church” post-pandemic
- Mental health check-in conversations with youth as they navigate this fall and its challenges like online classes, returning to school, missing friends.
- PHW’s Sacred Series Toolkit: Becoming a Trauma-Informed Faith Community
- Please use the Sacred Conversations 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. (By the Rev. Jessica Stokes, Associate Director of Partners in Health and Wholeness, Statewide Mental Health Advocacy)
- Partners in Health and Wholeness YouTube Channel – Videos can be used for meetings, discussion groups, education seminars, etc
- Drive-in and drive-thru healthy eating cook-offs
- Stone memorial – Write or paint on a stone, place it on the church grounds, any time of the day
- Organize a card-writing campaign for the elderly and isolated members of the church, in which they are told how much they are appreciated and missed.
- Walk-through meal service with proper social distancing and CDC health guidelines in place of a sit-down meal service
- Deliver food and/or essential products to community members (examples: essential commodities, non-perishable food items, clothing, produce, medicine, cleaning products, baby products, COVID-19 handouts)
- Distribution of garden kits: seeds, soil, supplies, etc
- Community garden: socially-distanced working in shifts
- Socially-distanced plant potting parties
- Sending care packages (to kids, elderly, faith leaders, new parents)
- Socially-distanced movie nights: set up a projector and screen in your neighborhood or at your house of worship and invite folks to attend in their cars
- Ribbon hanging – bring your prayer, lament, celebrations, and decorate the breezeway
- Walking contest– everyone track steps for a set period of time and have a friendly competition
- Outside social distanced workout class (yoga, stretching, walking in non-crowded areas)
- Drive-in audiobook session – everyone drive-in and listen to a podcast, audiobook, and/or another recording over a loudspeaker while staying socially distant in their cars
- Meal train – cooking for one another
- Social distanced clean up day around the church or socially distanced trash pick-up in the community
- Supply drive for the local food bank
- Partner with a mental health support person and/or organization to offer counseling space for the community
- Offer counseling services to families dealing with COVID-19 infection in the community.
- Becoming a COVID testing site
- Making or acquiring masks for distribution
If you have any questions related to any of these ideas, please reach out to our team at PHWinfo@ncchurches.org.