Health Ministry offers free video lectures for parish nurses

LCMS Health Ministry is offering this year seven online video lectures designed for parish nurses.

Topics and presenters for the free lectures — available the first of each month at lcms.org/health — are:

March — “Law and Gospel, with Implications for Parish Nursing,” with Dr. Brian German, assistant professor of Theology and director of the Concordia Bible Institute at Concordia University Wisconsin, Mequon. The lecture is designed to help nurses “recognize the difference between Law and Gospel, and apply them correctly in interactions” with others.

April — In “Addressing Mental Illness in the Church,” Pat Doyle, president of Vision for Change , will share “practical information” for those “who wish to provide a caring, healthful and helpful approach to persons with mental illness,” such as members of congregations, law enforcement and other community groups.

June — In “Theology of the Cross vs. Theology of Glory, with Implications for Parish Nurses,” the Rev. Dr. Leopoldo Sánchez, director of the Center for Hispanic Studies at Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, “will help the parish nurse recognize the difference between ‘theology of the cross’ and ‘theology of glory,’ and respond appropriately to persons who explain their condition with an inappropriate understanding of one or both of these theologies.”

July — In “Surviving a Loss,” Hope Knight, parish-nurse representative for the LCMS Oklahoma District, “will address loss from a broader perspective — not just loss from death,” such as declining health, lost jobs and loss of material possessions.

August — In “Guilt and Forgiveness, and the Effect on Health,” the Rev. Dr. Mark Rockenbach, associate professor of Practical Theology at Concordia Seminary, will explore how guilt and forgiveness affect health. Parish nurses “will better understand how to encourage [people] to forgive others and to appreciate the forgiveness they have received,” which can boost health in positive ways, according to LCMS Health Ministry.

October — In “Care for the Aging,” Cynthia Rutan, parish-nurse representative for the LCMS Northwest District, “will provide insights into the blessings and challenges that older adults experience as well as the blessings and challenges that parish nurses may experience in serving the older adult.” Rutan, a member of her district’s Task Force on Aging and whose parish-nurse ministry includes many older adults, also will speak about parish nurses who are older adults themselves.

December — In “Parish Nursing as a Vocation,” the Rev. Dr. Patrick Ferry, president of Concordia University Wisconsin, Mequon, and Concordia University, Ann Arbor, Mich., will help participants “recognize and appreciate” their vocations, including their “calling” to serve as parish nurses.

For more information about the video lectures — which are being produced throughout the year — send an email to Tracy Quaethem, manager of LCMS Life and Health Ministries, at tracy.quaethem@lcms.org.

Posted Jan. 28, 2016