The Partners in Health and Wholeness (PHW) Summer Mini-Grant Cycle is now open. Mini-grants are a great way to support programs in your health ministry that engage church congregants and fulfill a health need in the church and surrounding community. Mini-grants are open to any worshipping community that has applied for or renewed membership to the PHW Collaborative within the past year. If you have applied and been approved for a mini-grant after April 2017 you are not yet eligible to receive another mini-grant. Priority is given to projects that…
Politics of Eating
Sermon originally delivered at the Jack Crum Conference at Highlands United Methodist Church in Raleigh on Saturday, April 21. The primary text was Isaiah 55:1-9. My parents have an amazing garden. Besides the fact that it’s huge, it’s also bountiful. Its bounty comes from the gardeners who know how to get the most from their soil. My father understands the chemistry of soil—he knows which nutrients are lacking and puts them in; and he has a pond close at hand to help him out when the weather doesn’t cooperate with…
Join Us for the PHW Faith and Health Summit
On Thursday, October 19th Partners in Health and Wholeness will host our 2017 Faith and Health Summit. Thursday’s events include a community gardens and permaculture tour throughout the city of Greensboro. Unfortunately this tour is full, but don’t let that discourage you from driving to Greensboro on Thursday. At 6 p.m. that evening all conference attendees are encouraged to join us for light refreshments in the cafe of First Baptist Church Greensboro. This will give all the attendees a chance to check-in, pick up conference folders, and mingle with the…
Apply for PHW Collaborative by May 31 to be Eligible for June Mini-Grant
The next Partners in Health and Wholeness Mini-grant Cycle will begin June 5. Interested congregations must apply to join the PHW Collaborative (previously PHW Certification) by May 31 to be eligible. Priority is given to projects that address one of PHW’s four cornerstones: healthy eating, physical activity, tobacco prevention and cessation, and mental health. In the past, mini-grants have been used to fund healthy church meals, community garden expansions, cooking demonstrations, exercise classes, supplies for blood pressure checks, and much more. We look forward to hearing all the creative proposals…
PHW Launches Collaborative; Certify for 2017
We are pleased to introduce the PHW Collaborative. Mostly, it is a change in the name, so if your congregation has been a part of the Partners in Health and Wholeness Certification Program, you actually already know about the PHW Collaborative. At the heart of it, the program is the same. But words are important. The language we use every day reflects our values and at the North Carolina Council of Churches we make an effort to be very intentional with the language we use. As Partners in Health and Wholeness…
PHW Mini-Grants Now Open
We are excited to announce that we are now accepting mini-grant applications. Congregations who were certified in 2016 (and have not already received a grant from the last cycle) are eligible to apply. We look forward to reading all the wonderful, meaningful, and creative health-related projects your congregations have planned. For great stories on what past grantees have done, read our congregational spotlights. For more information and to complete the application, click here. If you have questions please contact your Regional Coordinator or call the main office at 919-828-6501. This grant cycle closes on…
Partners in Health and Wholeness Grant Cycle Opens January 6
PHW-certified congregations across North Carolina are eligible to apply for a mini-grant to assist in furthering their commitment to health and wholeness. Mini-grant application periods are open twice a year; the current cycle is from January 6 through February 6. To be eligible for this grant cycle, congregations must have been certified in the past year but have not received a PHW grant in 2016. For more information about Partners in Health and Wholeness grant opportunities please visit our FAQ page. The first certification cycle for 2017 opens in early…
The Rural Oasis: Conetoe Family Life Center
The amount of grassroots, efficient, and sustainable Kingdom work happening in North Carolina is astounding. People across our state are working together in various communities to promote health and wholeness. People care about health. People recognize that our lives and families depend on us caring about health. Communal work is happening all around us, to help people live fuller and healthier lives. Most of all, if you take notice of these various efforts, you will also see the spirit moving in each of them. I was able to see this…
Concord UMC: Planting Seeds and Watching Hearts Grow
By Kaitlyn Brodar, PHW Intern As the health lead for Concord UMC in Graham, NC, Donna Poe spends most of her time in the garden. Even as we were talking, she was hard at work picking caterpillars off the collard greens. “You know, it’s amazing what you can get accomplished while you’re kneeling over a bed just talking to someone else—whether it’s the first time meeting, or if they’re best friends, or if it’s families coming out. It’s very special.” Concord UMC started their community garden eight years ago, and…
PHW Success Story- Soul Harvest Apostolic Church, Spring Lake
By Kaitlyn Brodar, PHW Intern The Soul Harvest Apostolic Church is a gold-level PHW congregation that has been certified since 2012 and is firmly committed to healthy eating. They have a vibrant community garden that provides a steady source of healthy, fresh vegetables for their soup kitchen, which feeds many individuals in their community. Their pastor, Ann Newell, also takes produce to a local senior living community so that seniors are able to purchase inexpensive produce without needing to travel to a grocery store. In addition to providing food for…
Untapped Resources: A Treasure for One Congregation and Their Community
July 16, 2016 is the 2-month mark since Regional Coordinator for Western North Carolina became my full time position with the NCCC’s Partners in Health and Wholeness Initiative. This is significant for me because in these two months the exciting ministries of so many congregations in Western North Carolina have entered my world. One of those is The Restoration House, a ministry of Bryson City UMC. Earlier in July, the Rev. Wayne Dickert of Bryson City UMC and Nantahala River of Life invited me to see the vision taking shape at The Restoration House in Swain County on…
PHW Intern Reflections
By Brian Hollingsworth, PHW Intern, Wake Forest University School of Divinity A few years ago, my faith needed a breath of new life. Despite having grown up in church, being heavily involved in youth group and college ministry, and even finding a wonderful job in full-time camp ministry after college, somehow I still felt something was missing. My spiritual life felt dry, God seemed distant, and everything I taught and thought seemed to be looking toward a future that had not yet been realized, while neglecting God’s presence and love…
A New Heaven
“Joy, can you still dance. Now that I just heard about the Charleston shooting, can you dance a prayer as well as dancing to demonstrate that we offer our whole bodies to God?” This was Nurya, the minister-in-residence during this week long food and faith intensive sponsored by the Wake Forest University Divinity School in Asheville. She had just sat down at the table where two teenagers, a Partners in Health and Wholeness volunteer, and I were having breakfast. I hadn’t heard about the shooting before she mentioned it. She…
Come to the Table Conference Feeds the Soul
“It’s like a mini-family reunion” said one participant about the Come to the Table Conference that happened at Elon Community Church on Thursday, May 28. There were many encounters that unearthed the deep connections of energy and vibrancy formed through past projects. This family atmosphere was perfect to usher in the discussions that we were invited to participate in as attendees. The day included workshops on everything from how the history of agriculture in the south impacts the food movement to local food access and SNAP/EBT at farmers markets. The…
Elon Come to the Table – Inclement Weather Update
RAFI has posted information on its website about pending weather decisions for the Come to the Table Ecumenical Service on Wednesday evening and all-day conference on Thursday, both in Elon. Please also keep an eye on our website for updates about the conference and service. Whether to proceed with the worship service will be decided by noon on Wednesday in accordance with the host church, and the conference will be decided by Wednesday at 10 p.m. We hope that these events will be able to proceed but we also recognize the…