Concordia University Wisconsin, Mequon, is sponsoring in June two educational conferences for parish nurses, congregational health workers and those interested in starting health ministries:
- The 12th annual Concordia Conference for Parish Nurse and Congregational Health Ministries is scheduled for June 3-4 on the Concordia campus. “Pre-conference” sessions also will be offered June 2.
- A four-day intensive conference on “The Concept and Practice of Parish Nurse and Congregational Health” will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily June 22-25 at Concordia.
Under the theme “Taking Care of You: Nurturing Tools for the Caregiver,” the first conference is designed to show parish nurses and caregivers how to take care of themselves, and how to equip other caregivers to take care of themselves.
Keynote speakers and their topics are Rev. Matthew Harrison, executive director of LCMS World Relief and Human Care, “Where is God When Things Go Wrong? Making Sense of Suffering in My Life and in the Lives of Those for Whom I Care”; Dr. Kurt Senske, chief executive officer of Lutheran Social Services of the South, “Personal Values: God’s Game Plan for Life”; and Linda Gleason, adjunct professor of nursing at Concordia University Wisconsin, “Keeping Fit to Further the Kingdom.” A session on “Abundant Life Styles: Nurturing Body, Mind and Soul” will be presented at the June 2 “pre-conference” by nurses Judy Teuscher of Eureka, Mo.; Georgeanne Davidson of St. Louis; and Karen Sisk of Fredericktown, Mo.
Participants also may attend four of 20 workshops on topics such as “Heart Health: What Women Need to Know,” “Leading from a Servant Role,” “Homosexuality: Theology and Ministry,” “Caregivers and Severe Mental Illness,” “How Can You Heal if You Are Broken?,” “Laugh, It Does a Body Good,” “Stay Calm! It’s only ADHD” and “Raising Up Additional Parish Nurses from Within.”
Registration is $50 for the June 2 “pre-conference” and $85 per day for sessions on June 3 and 4. The June 3 registration fee includes a luncheon with Concordia University Wisconsin President Patrick T. Ferry.
The June 22-25 conference is designed to introduce nurses and others to the concept of parish nursing and share strategies for starting a congregational health ministry.
The course covers more than a dozen topics, including the history and philosophy of parish nursing, roles and models of the parish nurse, legal and ethical aspects of parish nursing and congregational health, grief and loss and support groups, setting up a parish-nurse practice and office, budgeting, and exercise ministries.
Registration is $95 per day, plus a $130 fee for materials. Four-day cost including materials is $510.
For information about either event, contact Carol Lueders Bolwerk, director of parish nurse ministries at Concordia University Wisconsin, at (262) 243-4233 or carol.lueders.bolwerk@cuw.edu.
Posted March 12, 2004
