2021: A Year in Review

NC Council of Churches

Strength in Unity, Peace through Justice

Health

Piney Grove Baptist Ministries Helped with Healthy Eating Equipment Grant
Piney Grove Baptist Ministries Helped with Healthy Eating Equipment Grant
Jul 3, 2013
Willona Stallings, Former Program Coordinator – Partners in Health & Wholeness

Piney Grove Baptist Ministries Helped with Healthy Eating Equipment Grant

Mt. Airy News

Piney Grove Baptist Church’s food ministries recently got a boost from the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina Foundation (BCBSNC) in the form of a $5,000 healthy eating equipment grant. The effort is a partnership between BCBSNC and the North Carolina Council of Churches to provide equipment for 20 faith-based organizations to bring healthier food to their members and communities. More than $90,000 in equipment grants are being used to provide canning and cooking supplies, expand church community gardens and increase storage for fresh produce.
Implementing the Affordable Care Act: Legislative Seminar Workshop
Implementing the Affordable Care Act: Legislative Seminar Workshop
Apr 29, 2013
Chris Liu-Beers, Former Program Associate

Implementing the Affordable Care Act: Legislative Seminar Workshop

Rev. Linda Walling, Executive Director at Faithful Reform in Health Care and Nicole Dozier, Assistant Project Director at the NC Health Access Coalition offered this compelling and insightful workshop on the Affordable Care Act (aka “Obamacare”) at our 2013 Legislative Seminar. You can download and listent the podcast above.
Free AEDs and CPR Training for Select Counties
Free AEDs and CPR Training for Select Counties
Apr 5, 2013
Willona Stallings, Former Program Coordinator – Partners in Health & Wholeness

Free AEDs and CPR Training for Select Counties

The NC Council of Churches, American Red Cross and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of NC are partnering together to provide more Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) and CPR training to places of worship in select counties. To date, 183 congregations have received an award.

To learn more or to complete an application, please click here. The deadline to apply is Friday, May 24.
Lectionary: Care for HIV/AIDS Patients (4th Sunday after Easter)
Lectionary: Care for HIV/AIDS Patients (4th Sunday after Easter)
Mar 26, 2013
Chris Liu-Beers, Former Program Associate

Lectionary: Care for HIV/AIDS Patients (4th Sunday after Easter)

From Acts of Faith: Free Lectionary Resources for Prophetic Worship

Date: 4th Sunday after Easter – April 21, 2013
Topic: Care for HIV/AIDS Patients
Focus Text: Acts 9:36-43

From the pastoral reflection: “Today, the reality is that HIV looks like all of us – regardless of race, gender, age, sexual orientation, or faith tradition. The epidemic is growing most rapidly, however, among minorities who have historically experienced a higher risk for poverty, lack of health insurance, co-morbidity, and disenfranchisement from the health care system. The result is a growing number of individuals living with HIV disease who are living at or below the federal poverty level and who have limited or no access to life-saving, life-extending medications.”
Raleigh Report – February 1, 2013
Raleigh Report – February 1, 2013
Feb 4, 2013
Rose Gurkin, Former Program Associate for Administration

Raleigh Report – February 1, 2013

After a one-day organizational meeting in early January, the 2013 General Assembly convened in earnest last Wednesday. Bills introduced and advanced during these first two days give a taste of things to come. Note especially the bills affecting the implementation of the Affordable Care Act, weakening the benefits of unemployment insurance, and extending the presence of guns.

Preparing the Way: A Social Justice Study for Lent (free download)
Preparing the Way: A Social Justice Study for Lent (free download)
Feb 1, 2013
Chris Liu-Beers, Former Program Associate

Preparing the Way: A Social Justice Study for Lent (free download)

Click here for a free download of our new 2013 social justice study for Lent: Preparing the Way. This simple 10-page document combines traditional Lenten themes and Bible passages with contemporary issues including hunger, care of creation, and immigration. We invite you to join us in this season of reflection and preparation.

Looking for Community Sparkplugs for a Healthier Wilson County
Looking for Community Sparkplugs for a Healthier Wilson County
Jan 7, 2013
Willona Stallings, Former Program Coordinator – Partners in Health & Wholeness

Looking for Community Sparkplugs for a Healthier Wilson County

The Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina Foundation and The Rensselaerville Institute are looking for individuals with project ideas for creating a healthier Wilson County. Projects will be implemented over the next 6 months and must focus on increasing physical activity and/or access to and consumption of fresh produce.

Selected Community Sparkplugs and their teams will receive the following: a $3,000 grant (simple application process), individualized help to create an action plan and set project results, support and coaching over the next 6 months, and an opportunity to become part of a growing network of Community Sparkplugs across North Carolina.

Faith and Weight Loss: NC Churches Encourage Members to be Healthy
Faith and Weight Loss: NC Churches Encourage Members to be Healthy
Dec 31, 2012
Willona Stallings, Former Program Coordinator – Partners in Health & Wholeness

Faith and Weight Loss: NC Churches Encourage Members to be Healthy

Public News Service – NC

Weight loss is the most popular New Year’s resolution being made by North Carolinians and people around the country, according to new data from the University of Scranton. The goal of being healthier is even making its way into churches around the state, through a program sponsored by the North Carolina Council of Churches.

Date Change: Latino Pastor Dinner in Robeson Co.
Date Change: Latino Pastor Dinner in Robeson Co.
Nov 26, 2012
Joy Williams, Former PHW Regional Coordinator

Date Change: Latino Pastor Dinner in Robeson Co.

Partners in Health and Wholeness will host a dinner to connect Latino pastors with free resources and grants for churches. It takes place Thursday, Dec. 6 from 7 to 9 p.m. at Goodwin Heights Baptist Church, 704 Godwin Avenue in Lumberton. Please note this is a change in date from a prior announcement.

The meeting will be conducted in Spanish and is free. Please e-mail Joy Williams, for more information.
CPR Less Likely in Low Income Neighborhoods
CPR Less Likely in Low Income Neighborhoods
Nov 5, 2012
Trinh Le, Former Strive to Revive Assistant - Partners in Health and Wholeness

CPR Less Likely in Low Income Neighborhoods

WFMY News 2HD

Ramsuer, NC – What if your chances of surviving a heart attack, or sudden cardiac arrest, depended on the neighborhood you lived in? According to a new study, it just may. The New England Journal of Medicine suggests CPR by a bystander is less likely in low-income areas. They go on to say there is a direct relationship between household income and the racial makeup of a neighborhood.
United States Farmworker Factsheet
United States Farmworker Factsheet
Sep 19, 2012
Chris Liu-Beers, Former Program Associate

United States Farmworker Factsheet

Farmworkers are some of our nation’s most vital workers, as their labor enables us to enjoy high quality, low-cost, fresh fruits and vegetables all year round. Despite farmworkers’ economic and cultural contributions to the communities where they live and work, they continue to be the some of the lowest paid, least protected, and unhealthiest workers in the United States.
North Carolina UCC Receives Heart Defibrillator Through Health and Wellness Program
North Carolina UCC Receives Heart Defibrillator Through Health and Wellness Program
Sep 14, 2012
Trinh Le, Former Strive to Revive Assistant - Partners in Health and Wholeness

North Carolina UCC Receives Heart Defibrillator Through Health and Wellness Program

UCC News

Parkway United Church of Christ is now ready to take action if someone in the building shows signs of a heart attack. Through the North Carolina Council of Churches’ Strive to Revive program, the Winston-Salem congregation qualified for a free automated external defibrillator (AED) and CPR training, and the Rev. Craig Schaub made sure his church took advantage of the opportunity.
Blue Cross Giving Churches the Tools to Treat Heart Attacks
Blue Cross Giving Churches the Tools to Treat Heart Attacks
Aug 28, 2012
Trinh Le, Former Strive to Revive Assistant - Partners in Health and Wholeness

Blue Cross Giving Churches the Tools to Treat Heart Attacks

Winston-Salem Journal

Placing defibrillators in houses of worship — including eight in Winston-Salem — is part of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of N.C.’s strategy for extending the reach of health care into community gathering places.

The insurer and churches hope there will be a pay-it-forward element from the free CPR training that goes along with the automated external defibrillators.

“Most people don’t want to be in a helpless place when they see someone having a cardiac arrest,” said Bruce Hayes, associate pastor at Reynolda Church.

BCBSNC Grant Funds Defibrillators, Training for Churches
BCBSNC Grant Funds Defibrillators, Training for Churches
Aug 17, 2012
Trinh Le, Former Strive to Revive Assistant - Partners in Health and Wholeness

BCBSNC Grant Funds Defibrillators, Training for Churches

Durham-Herald Sun

DURHAM – Over the next three years, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina will fund 150 Automated External Defibrillators and training for places of worship across the state, with 33 already lined up. BCBSNC President and CEO J. Bradley Wilson made the announcement Tuesday at First Calvary Baptist Church in Durham along with Strive to Revive partners the American Red Cross, the North Carolina Council of Churches and N.C. Rep. Becky Carney (D-Mecklenburg).
Program Aims To Put Defibrillators In Churches
Program Aims To Put Defibrillators In Churches
Aug 17, 2012
Trinh Le, Former Strive to Revive Assistant - Partners in Health and Wholeness

Program Aims To Put Defibrillators In Churches

WUNC 91.5 North Carolina Public Radio

Eric Hodge: Several state organizations are banding together give churches the tools to save lives. Gurnal Scott reports.
Gurnal Scott: State Representative Becky Carney of Charlotte will never forget April 2nd, 2009..the day a portable defibrillator revived her after a near-fatal heart attack at the General Assembly
Rep. Becky Carney: One story can propel a great movement within a community.
Raleigh Report – June 1, 2012
Raleigh Report – June 1, 2012
Jun 1, 2012
Rose Gurkin, Former Program Associate for Administration

Raleigh Report – June 1, 2012

The General Assembly leadership is committed to having this short session truly be short, and there’s talk of adjourning by early July. In fact, an adjournment resolution was introduced yesterday with a target date of June 19. This session, which starts in May of even-numbered years, is primarily to tweak the second year of the budget adopted the year before. In addition, certain bills which were introduced last year (mostly ones which passed in one house) can be considered. For a new bill to be introduced this year, it must fit into one of a few specific categories, with most new bills having to do with budgetary matters or coming from a study commission which met during the interim. Finally, pending veto overrides are also thought by the House and Senate leadership to be eligible for consideration.


Also in this Raleigh Report: Guns in Church, Gambling, Death Penalty, Boards and Commissions and more.
A Personal Story of Faith and Health
A Personal Story of Faith and Health
Apr 12, 2012
Willona Stallings, Former Program Coordinator – Partners in Health & Wholeness

A Personal Story of Faith and Health

BCBSNC Foundation

My faith journey began at an early age and in a somewhat nontraditional way. I fondly remember attending weekly prayer meetings and Bible studies at my grandmother’s house in rural North Carolina. Community members would come from all around to worship together in a small, weather-beaten house at the end of a long dirt path. They would read scriptures, sing songs and tell stories of how they were able to overcome various obstacles throughout the week.

Annual Christian Educational Institute to be held in Dobbins Heights
Annual Christian Educational Institute to be held in Dobbins Heights
Mar 19, 2012
Willona Stallings, Former Program Coordinator – Partners in Health & Wholeness

Annual Christian Educational Institute to be held in Dobbins Heights

Richmond County Daily Journal

The Pee Dee Baptist Educational Congress, an auxiliary to the Pee Dee Baptist Educational Association, will conduct the Annual Christian Educational Institute from March 19 to 23, 2012, at the Pee Dee Educational Building in Dobbin Heights.

There will be classes for church officers and each department in the church.
Bladen Churches Unite: Being Healthy, Being Faithful 2012
Bladen Churches Unite: Being Healthy, Being Faithful 2012
Nov 14, 2011
Willona Stallings, Former Program Coordinator – Partners in Health & Wholeness

Bladen Churches Unite: Being Healthy, Being Faithful 2012

BladenJournal.com

Joy Williams of Partners in Health and Wholeness, a Christian-based organization, will collaborate with churches and the parish nurse on Monday, Nov. 28, at 5:30 p.m. in the fellowship hall of Elizabethtown Presbyterian Church at 800 W. Broad St. (across from the Municipal Building), to make local churches healthier for the glory of God.
Nonprofit Offers Pharmacy Program
Nonprofit Offers Pharmacy Program
Nov 4, 2011
Willona Stallings, Former Program Coordinator – Partners in Health & Wholeness

Nonprofit Offers Pharmacy Program

The Sanford Herald

Giang said N.C. MedAssist representatives wanted to travel to each county to meet with eligible residents and explain the enrollment process. The organization contacted the North Carolina Council of Churches and expressed interest in partnering with faith-based organizations willing to host one-day enrollment programs. The Rev. Mechelle Myers of Sanford’s New Endland AME Zion Church received an e-mail from the Council about the initiative and was the first person to respond.
November is American Diabetes Month
November is American Diabetes Month
Nov 3, 2011
Willona Stallings, Former Program Coordinator – Partners in Health & Wholeness

November is American Diabetes Month

The American Diabetes Association has launched a new faith-based program called “Live Empowered” which is designed to assist churches with integrating diabetes awareness messages and life application principles into worship services. Also, in observance of American Diabetes Month, the American Diabetes Association is sponsoring “Super Diabetes Sunday” on November 13th. Super Diabetes Sundays will include materials and giveaways to help your congregation join the fight against diabetes.
Safety Net Programs: They’re Worth Fighting For
Safety Net Programs: They’re Worth Fighting For
Oct 26, 2011
Willona Stallings, Former Program Coordinator – Partners in Health & Wholeness

Safety Net Programs: They’re Worth Fighting For

NC Policy Watch

It’s no wonder why our political leaders are scrambling to find solutions, even while bumping heads in the process. Both sides want what’s best for America, but the process through which we work to achieve that has become increasingly contentious and politically charged. And I can’t help but believe that our own personal experiences and beliefs, not the persuasive views of political pundits, ultimately determine on which side of an issue we fall and what we deem worth fighting for.

Let me share a story.
Raleigh News & Observer: Community gardens are in residents’ hands
Raleigh News & Observer: Community gardens are in residents’ hands
Aug 19, 2011
Chris Liu-Beers, Former Program Associate

Raleigh News & Observer: Community gardens are in residents’ hands

The Council has long been touting the benefits of community gardening in both urban and rural settings alike. Community gardens offer healthy local foods that are often more nutritious than their grocery-story or food-bank counterparts. Gardens also help community members become more active, and they are a great way for congregations, local organizations and neighborhoods to collaborate together. Last Sunday the Raleigh News & Observer highlighted this growing movement, using the example of Highland United Methodist Church.
Rural Life Committee Supports Ban on Fracking
Rural Life Committee Supports Ban on Fracking
Aug 18, 2011
North Carolina Council of Churches

Rural Life Committee Supports Ban on Fracking

The experiences of landowners in other states indicate that hydraulic fracturing can have profound negative impacts on rural communities. The Rural Life Committee of the North Carolina Council of Churches supports the current ban on hydraulic fracturing in North Carolina. The above concerns need to be addressed with careful attention to landowners’ property, landowners’ rights, and the care for creation’s gifts. Furthermore, we call on our member bodies and faith leaders to share reliable information about hydraulic fracturing with their communities. We believe that we are called by God to be good stewards of the good gifts of community, health, water and soil. Trusting in God, we refuse to trade this bountiful inheritance for the empty promises of energy that may be cheap in terms of dollars but which we know will be costly in terms of our livelihoods.
Free Youth Empowerment Training for Clergy
Free Youth Empowerment Training for Clergy
Jul 19, 2011
Willona Stallings, Former Program Coordinator – Partners in Health & Wholeness

Free Youth Empowerment Training for Clergy

Partners in Health and Wholeness, in partnership with Youth Empowered Solutions, will provide FREE TRAININGS to clergy and other adults who work with youth to create positive community change through strong health advocacy, particularly as it relates to increasing access to healthy foods, physical activity and tobacco use prevention. The date, time and location of the first training
The NFL Needs Your Help to Combat Childhood Obesity
The NFL Needs Your Help to Combat Childhood Obesity
Jun 23, 2011
Willona Stallings, Former Program Coordinator – Partners in Health & Wholeness

The NFL Needs Your Help to Combat Childhood Obesity

If your congregation is looking for a fun, creative way to combat childhood obesity, then the NFL – that’s right, the National Football League – has just the answer for you! The NFL is partnering with schools and community organizations, including churches, across the country to host a FREE skills competition for boys and girls ages 6 to 15 called, “Punt, Pass and Kick” (PPK).
Better Choices, Better Health
Better Choices, Better Health
May 12, 2011
Willona Stallings, Former Program Coordinator – Partners in Health & Wholeness

Better Choices, Better Health

Our friends at the Living Healthy Chronic Disease Self Management Program (CDSMP) would like to invite members of your congregation to take advantage of their FREE online workshop – Better Choices, Better Health™ – which is designed to help individuals self-manage their chronic conditions (e.g., diabetes, arthritis, high blood pressure, chronic pain, anxiety, etc.). Specifically, the workshop can help you and the people you care about
Raleigh Report – April 18, 2011
Raleigh Report – April 18, 2011
Apr 20, 2011
Rose Gurkin, Former Program Associate for Administration

Raleigh Report – April 18, 2011

Budget Edition: Last week the chairs of the House Appropriations Subcommittees started revealing their plans for the 2011-13 budget. Not surprisingly, their plans differ in significant ways from the budget proposed by Governor Perdue. The most important difference is that the House leaders will not approve the continuation of any of the emergency tax increases enacted in 2009.
Raleigh Report – April 4, 2011
Raleigh Report – April 4, 2011
Apr 4, 2011
Rose Gurkin, Former Program Associate for Administration

Raleigh Report – April 4, 2011

The drumbeat of bad bills continues. Suffice it to say that it’s a tough year for those of us who have advocated for public policy decisions promoting social justice, protecting vulnerable people, and caring for God’s creation. We can’t respond to every bad idea or bad bill. On many of these issues, we feel like we are butting our heads against a wall. Our tendency may be to throw up our hands in despair.
Calling all Community Sparkplugs!
Calling all Community Sparkplugs!
Mar 18, 2011
Willona Stallings, Former Program Coordinator – Partners in Health & Wholeness

Calling all Community Sparkplugs!

The Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina Foundation – in partnership with the North Carolina Council of Churches, Center for Environmental Farming Systems, North Carolina PTA, and North Carolina Recreation and Park Association – is looking for “Community Sparkplugs” to help build a healthier North Carolina. So, what exactly is a Community Sparkplug?
Grants to Create Healthier Communities
Grants to Create Healthier Communities
Mar 18, 2011
Willona Stallings, Former Program Coordinator – Partners in Health & Wholeness

Grants to Create Healthier Communities

ENCToday.com

Lenoir County is the first county in the state to receive grant awards through the “Spark Plug” program, an initiative of the Blue Cross/Blue Shield of North Carolina Foundation to promote healthy activity and nutrition.

Ten organizations and government entities in Pink Hill, Grifton and Kinston each received a $3,000 award for projects that inspired physical activity or greater nutrition in the community.

“If every county has spark plugs in it like Lenoir County does, this is going to be a huge success,” Danielle Breslin, vice president of operations for the BCBSNC Foundation, said of the program.
Raleigh Report – March 7, 2011
Raleigh Report – March 7, 2011
Mar 17, 2011
Rose Gurkin, Former Program Associate for Administration

Raleigh Report – March 7, 2011

Governor Bev Perdue on Saturday vetoed H 2, the misnamed “Protect Health Care Freedom” bill. (It should be called the “Freedom to be Uninsured and Unable to Get Health Care” bill.) The bill was an attack on federal health care reform and purported to remove North Carolinians from the mandated purchase of health insurance, which is the basis of federal reform which will move millions of uninsured Americans into the ranks of the insured.
Prospect Presbyterian’s Health Efforts Noted
Prospect Presbyterian’s Health Efforts Noted
Mar 15, 2011
Willona Stallings, Former Program Coordinator – Partners in Health & Wholeness

Prospect Presbyterian’s Health Efforts Noted

Salisbury Post

Prospect Presbyterian Church, 9425 W. NC Hwy 152 in Mooresville, has achieved the North Carolina Council of Churches’ first Gold Certification for the congregation’s commitment to better health.

The Rev. Joanne Hull serves as Prospect’s pastor with Sybil Perrell, RN, as the parish nurse for this rural church in the edge of Western Rowan County.