Report from the Sixth Annual Healthy Churches 2020 Conference
By Rev. Tamara O. Kersey, Contributing Writer
Hundreds of faith leaders, missionaries, clinicians, public health officials and health advocates joined The Balm In Gilead, Inc for their 6th annual Healthy Churches conference, November 19-22, 2019.
The Rev. Dr. Garland Pierce, Executive Director of the Department of Christian Education of the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church has attended the conference for the last three years. As an attendee of the conference, Rev. Dr. Pierce addresses how health sits at the intersectionality of our faith: “The Healthy Churches 2020 Conference effectively breaks down the false separation between the physical, the mental, and the spiritual, reinforcing that both faith and wellness must be holistic. This conference brings together the biblical, theological, scientific, and cultural in relevant and practical ways to equip the Black Church for its calling to promote and advocate for good health for all in the communities where we worship and witness. I am so glad to have been a part of the conference for the last three years, helping participants in the Institute particularly explore Christian education’s role in health promotion and advocacy.”
The Balm in Gilead, Inc was founded by Dr. Pernessa Steele 30 years ago and started with the vision to help combat the AIDS epidemic in the African-American community. This vision was shared with American opera singer and recitalist, Jessye Norman who also wanted to contribute to changing the outcomes of AIDS in the African-American community. Norman dedicated proceeds from the operatic version of the song, There is a Balm in Gilead to The Balm in Gilead, Inc.
Dr. Prenessa Seale delivered the welcome, paying homage to the recently deceased Jessye Norman by playing a video of Norman singing There is a Balm in Gilead.
Dr. Seale, with conviction in her voice, urged attendants to action with the encouragement to stand as the children of Harriet Tubman, Absalom Jones, Richard Allen, Ida B. wells, James Varick; with the power, authority and witness within our DNA, bloodline, and faith to work towards building better communities.
For the remainder of the conference, workshops covered topics such as Multiple Myeloma, hATTR Amyloidosis, Asthma, Coronary Artery Disease (CAD), Diabetes, Lupus, Cancer, Food Justice and, Breaking the Silence of Mental Illness in the Black Church.
In the Wednesday plenary session, “The 2019 Annual State of the Union on Black Health/Mental Health”, Dr. Kafui Dzirasa of Duke University Medical Center shared the results of a study that compared the healing process of those using medication vs. those prescribed a placebo. In the study, those using a placebo fared better than those using actual medicine. Dr. Dzirasa explained that the study shows that there is something about believing you can be healed. Ultimately, delivering hope is medicine and in cases of mental health, the church does better in connecting our culture of faith with mental health resources as well as advocating for diet, exercise and better sleep habits.
One presenter, Rev. Dr. Heber Brown, is the senior pastor of Pleasant Hope Baptist church; but is also a community organizer and founder of the Black Church Food Security Network (BCFSN) which helps eliminate “food apartheid”. The term food apartheid encompasses the term food desert signifying the systematic way grocery stores are established based on socioeconomic status. Ultimately, the lower the income, the greater the distance to grocery stores and more wholesome foods. Rev. Dr. Brown used 1500 sq. feet of land in Baltimore to begin a garden next to his church. The harvest from the garden became a fresh market for community members. In addition, young people learned about herbs and how to make products such as Elderberry Syrup and Turmeric Lemonade. Brown shared with attendees that Bishop Frank M. Reid, Presiding Prelate of the Third Episcopal District, is partnering with the BCFSN to establish gardens on land at AME churches in the Third District.
In an evening awards ceremony, Turner Memorial AME Church of Hyattsville, Md. (Dr. D.K. Kearney, pastor) was one of nine recipients of the prestigious 2019 Best Practice Health Ministry award demonstrating extraordinary efforts in improving the health, well-being and services in African-American communities.
The Right Reverend Harry L. Seawright sums up his experience:
“Healthy Churches 2020 conference is one of the leading conferences on health and wellness that I have ever attended. The speakers, workshops and sponsors provided updated and helpful information that transformed minds, bodies and spirits. It is a must for those who are serious about healthy lifestyle changes and development.” Bishop Harry L. Seawright, Presiding Prelate, Ninth Episcopal District (State of Alabama) AME Church
The next conference will be held November 17 to 20, 2020 in Charlotte, NC at Le Meridien Hotel.
The Rev. Tamara O. Kersey is an ordained itinerant elder in the Second Episcopal District of the AME Church. She is a 2013 graduate of the M.Div. program at Shaw University Divinity School and serves as: the WNCC, Western District Social Action Commission coordinator, Advisory Board of the Institute for Early Career Clergy Development (IECCD) at Hood Theological Seminary and associate pastor of Wayman Chapel AME Church in Graham, North Carolina.
