Health Ministries : A Primer for Clergy and Congregations

"Parish nurses, pastors, and other health ministers have a tremendous opportunity to make a difference in today's world," says Patterson. "They reach out to people who are longing for meaning, for connection, for hope." As executive director of the International Parish Nurse Resource Center and Deaconess Parish Nurse Ministries in St. Louis, Missouri, Patterson, a devoted advocate of congregational health ministries, tackles head-on in her latest book the unique questions and concerns clergy have about starting and maintaining a health ministry program within their congregation. Patterson believes clergy can gain great knowledge about and understand the importance of congregational health ministries by listening to the stories and experiences of actual parish nurses who are out in the field. She personally interviewed a number of parish nurses in the U.S. and Canada, compiled their accounts, and put them together in an interesting, accessible format for clergy that will stress the importance of this much-needed congregational ministry. Book jacket.