Meet Our Parish Nurse...Cyndi Smith, RN, FCN.
What is a Parish Nurse?
A parish nurse is an integrator of faith and health, health educator,
personal health counselor, referral agent, developer of support groups,
trainer of volunteers and health advocate.
Why use a Parish Nurse?
Healing was an integral part of the foundation of the Christian Church
as noted:
And he sent them to preach the
kingdom of God, and to heal the sick. (KJV) Luke 9:2
I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God,
to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to
God, which is your spiritual worship. (NRSV) Romans 12:1
Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming
the good news of the kingdom and curing every disease and every sickness
among the people. (NRSV) Matthew 4:23
As we enter the 21st century, a shift in health care is taking shape.
A new breed of "wellness provider" operates inside and outside houses
of worship, tending to body, mind and spirit by whatever means possible.
Parish nurses are calling churches back to their original mission -
to help people live healthy lives. Healing is not to be confused with
curing, but is the restoration of wholeness, the process of becoming
"whole" in body, mind and spirit.
Philosophy of Parish Nursing
Parish nursing is a specialty practice and professional model of health
ministry distinguished by the following beliefs:
The parish nurse role reclaims the historic roots of health and healing
found in many religious traditions. Parish nurses live out the early
work of monks, nuns, deacons and deaconesses, church nurses, traditional
healers and the nursing profession itself.
The spiritual dimension is central
to parish nursing practice. Personal spiritual formation is essential
for the parish nurse. The practice holds that all persons are sacred
and must be treated with respect and dignity. Compelled by these beliefs
the parish nurse serves, advocating with compassion, mercy and justice.
The parish nurse assists and supports individuals, families, and communities
in becoming more active partners in the stewardship of personal and
communal health resources.
The parish nurse understands
health to be a dynamic process, which embodies the spiritual, psychological,
physical, and social dimensions of the person. Spiritual health is central
to well being and influences a person's entire being. A sense of well
being can exist in the presence of disease, and healing can exist in
absence of cure.
The focus of practice is the
faith community and its ministry. The parish nurse, in collaboration
with the pastoral staff and congregants, participates in the ongoing
transformation of the faith community into a source of health and healing.
Through partnership with other community health resources, parish nursing
fosters new and creative responses to health and wellness concerns.
©Deaconess Parish Nurse Ministries
Ministries of a Parish Nurse
A. Integrator of faith and health
B. Personal Health Counselor
C. Health Educator
D. Trainer of Volunteers
E. Developer of Support Groups
F. Referral Agent
G. Health Advocate
