Wyoming Health Ministry Summit - April 30, 2011

The Wyoming Health Ministry Summit provided a forum to mortar faith and health together with the goal to educate clergy, faith leaders, health professionals and lay ministers on health ministry. The one-day event was held April 30, 2011 at the Little America Hotel & Resort, in Cheyenne, Wyoming.

Highlights from Summit:

• Over 60 participants from Wyoming and surrounding areas attended.

• The Director of Symposium & Resources from the International Parish Nurse Resource Center, Mary Slutz, RN, BS, MHCA, was the keynote speaker. She addressed the history of health ministry, the development of Faith Community Nursing and the future of faith and healthcare.

• Cheyenne author Dorothy Lansing spoke about her life experiences and prayers that evolved into a book, Living Waters: Writings from the Heart of a Christian.

• Eight breakout sessions were offered and provided a variety of tools for developing and enhancing health ministry.

• An Interfaith Panel discussed the importance of health across several faith traditions bringing humor, insight and understanding to their represented faiths. The panelists included: The Reverend David Stratton (moderator) Baptist; The Reverend Patrick Bradley, Roman Catholic; Rabbi Harley Karz-Wagman, Judaism; Mohamed Salih, Islam; and The Reverend Dana Lightsey, Unitarian Universalist.

• A Faith Community/Parish Nurse dinner-reception was held the evening prior to the summit and was an opportunity to connect with fellow FCNs and hear from the IPNRC and the Health Ministries Association (HMA) representatives.

As a result of the Wyoming Health Ministry Summit we hope to build stronger, healthier faith communities.