Healthy Seminarians - Healthy Church Initiative
Healthy Seminarians - Healthy Church Initiative
Mission Statement:
We seek to help seminary communities, clergy, and church members think theologically about health (in all aspects of the word) and learn practical ways of living into the abundant life that God offers us.
Our Goals:
- To help raise up church leaders who are educated in, value, and practice healthy living as an integral part of their ministries.
- To bring about awareness of how people’s stewardship of their own health (physical, spiritual, mental, emotional) is interconnected with the health of God’s whole creation.
- To improve the health of both seminaries and the communities around them (local neighborhoods, nearby churches, the places in which participants are called to serve, the PC(USA) as a whole, and anyone else with whom we come in contact!)
Our Healthy Seminarians program focuses on…
Improving the health of future clergy before they receive their first calls into ministry.
Columbia Theological Seminary, Decatur, GA
Our current projects include...
Providing seminarians and seminary communities the tools and resources they need to become healthier. These include:
- Results-oriented wellness programming designed for seminary communities
- (New) Building Shiloah Program: in depth health and wellness experience for seminarians who seek to establish and maintain healthy habits during seminary and beyond
- C3:Comprehensive Clergy Coaching. First-call and wellness coaching for seminarians
- Health-oriented small groups (focusing on the wellbeing of individuals, communities, and creation) using our Moving in Wholeness curriculum
- Campus-wide health incentive campaigns
- Fitness, nutrition, and wellness consultations
- Cooking demos, health-oriented “Lunch & Learns,” the list goes on!
- Seminary-wide evaluation of food practices and culture, followed up with a report of actionable steps
- Equipment and layout recommendations for seminary gym facilities
- Offering guidance to seminary students, faculty, and staff as they seek to become more sustainable
Our “Healthy Church” program focuses on…
Improving the health and wellbeing of clergy, congregations, and the communities they serve.
Forest Lake Presbyterian Church, Columbia, SC
Our current projects include…
Providing biblically and theologically based fitness, nutrition, and wellness educational opportunities (lectures, discussions, sermons, retreats, etc.)
Facilitating health-oriented Sunday school classes or small groups (focusing on the wellbeing of individuals, communities, and creation) using our Moving in Wholeness curriculum.
Providing assistance to congregations interested in starting a health ministry/congregational care program or initiative.
Answering questions about starting a church garden, composting, or other sustainable initiatives on your church grounds or in your community.
Some of our other projects include…
- Nurturing the natural connection between physical and spiritual health through our participatory Stations of the Cross, adapted for the seminary’s or church’s specific location.
First Presbyterian Church, Spartanburg, SC
- Networking seminaries and congregations with other faith-based organizations interested in health and sustainability efforts and initiatives.