Our fellowship is 60 years old. Initially, medical missions was the main interest. We gathered together for fellowship and to hear a church leader, professor, or pastor minister to us over a weekend. We plan to continue to do that after the Coronavirus is over. Over the years our mission moved more to promote holistic healthcare and being a resource to our churches. It was not just a fellowship, but a group of health care professionals that tried to reach out to our churches. We still had retreats focused on missions, but also on suffering, and one with chaplains on visiting and ministering to those who are ill. We had a session at General Conference on substance abuse. Over one hundred pastors, delegates, and friends attended.
The coronavirus has forced us to cancel our fall in-person conference but is giving us an opportunity to do something new: a virtual conference that is easily available to many more Free Methodist Healthcare Professionals. This will take place Saturday, Sept 19 at noon EDT. The theme will be Holistic Health Care in the Midst of the Coronavirus Crisis. The Free Methodist Chaplains Association will join us in this conference and are supplying most of the speakers. The zoom conference will be live, so those listening will have a chance to ask questions or make comments. People can also post comments on our website. The program will be recorded and placed on our website, so if you like what you hear, you can share it with others.
Chaplain Larry Lyons and Rick Kerr work in hospitals and ICUs. Chaplain Kathy Petteys works in a nursing home in Rochester, NY. They will share the challenges of sharing God’s love with patients, their families, and the hospital staff. Some of the patients might not get better. Staff are exhausted. How does one deal with fear in these situations? Chaplains Richard Reynolds ministers to the homeless. He also got coronavirus, so he will share as a chaplain to the poor who are at high risk and also share as one who became ill. Finally, Steve Noblett, director of Christian Community Health Fellowship will share some of the challenges that Christian office-based practices faced. He will then share his own view as a Christian as to what this epidemic might mean and what our response might be.
At the end, there will be an opportunity for questions and short responses. The total conference will last 2 ½ hours. Longer meetings on zoom can be difficult. so we want to be mindful.
To learn more about the Conference and to find the link, click here.
Just click on the link. You will be asked to give your name but you do not need to sign up in advance. The Zoom access which belongs to Northeastern Seminary can accommodate several hundred people. Please join us. If you have any questions email normwetterau@aol.com
