From Response
When worshipers at First United Methodist Church in Albany, Oregon took a moment during a recent Sunday service to share what they were thankful for, Jill Gosswiller needed only one word: “Antibiotics,” she said.
Many in the congregation laughed, but not at Ms. Gosswiller. It’s obvious by the line they form to have her check their blood pressure that they appreciate her steady focus on wellness as an integral component of the faith community’s life together. They’re just not crazy about her insistence that they occasionally give up cookies during the fellowship time following worship.
Ms. Gosswiller is a parish nurse, part of a growing movement of health care professionals who are fleshing out the church’s ministry with a focus on integral health promotion among church members and local communities.
“Parish nurses serve as health counselors, health educators, health advocates, referral agents and interpreters of faith and health connections,” said Particia Magyar who works with the United Methodist parish nurse community at United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) Health. “They must must be licensed registered nurses in their state and attend a one-week parish nurse training.”
“The parish nurse movement began in the 1970s with the Rev. Granger Westberg, a minister in a Lutheran congregation.” Ms Magyar said. “He saw the disconnect between pastors and congregants when it came to understanding health. He saw nurses as a bridge to addressing people’s spiritual and health needs.”
Mr. Westberg was the founder of the Holistic Health Center at Union Church in Hinsdale, Ill. The first parish nurse pilot program was in 1983 at Our Savior’s Lutheran Church in Tucson, Ariz. Mr. Westberg envisioned parish nursing to be a partnership between hospitals and congregations.
Today, Ms. Gosswiller is one of approximately 450 United Methodist parish nurses -- part of a movement of thousands of parish nurses in different denominations.
Becoming a parish nurse
At the height of her career as an orthopedic nurse, Ms. Gosswiller developed non-Hodgkin lymphoma. She took disability leave and underwent several forms of treatment, including a stem cell transplant. During a particularly trying part of her medical ordeal, she heard God’s voice telling her she was not alone. She was unchurched, and the experience convinced her she needed to find a church home. So she started visiting worship services in the area.
At the same time, since she was no longer working, she says she quickly grew bored. But then she heard about a class to train people as parish nurses being held at a local community college.
“I thought, ‘I can do that,’” she said. So she took the training, but then needed a congregation where she could practice her new vocation. The class teacher said the local United Methodist congregation didn’t have a parish nurse. Ms. Gosswiller had earlier worshiped there and liked the experience. So she approached church leaders and asked if she could volunteer her services.
“They welcomed me with open arms,” she said. “And here I am still.”
Ms. Gosswiller, who is licensed as a registered nurse, says a key element of her ministry is taking the time to listen to her patients; something she admits is an increasingly scarce practice among overworked health care professionals.
“When I started nursing, that’s what I thought nursing was all about,” she said. “And it used to be that way. Nurses visited with their patients and got to know them. Today I’m finally doing nursing the way it was meant to be. I can take all the time in the world. I can sit and listen to people.”
Most of Ms. Gosswiller’s job involves visitation to sick or shut-in members of the congregation. She can take their blood pressure, but leaves other tasks to their personal physician or other care providers. Her job is to listen and cultivate the patient’s understanding of their condition.
“I can offer medical advice, but I don’t diagnose. I urge them to talk to their doctor about their concerns, and if needed I have taken people to their physician and stayed in the room so I can help interpret for them what the doctor is saying.”
Congregational health
Ms. Gosswiller, 62, also is charged with improving the health of the congregation, which she joined soon after being named the parish nurse. It can be a daunting task. She and the pastor got the church to substitute healthy snacks for cookies during the fellowship time one Sunday of each month, but admits the change generated considerable grumbling.
“People like their cookies,” she said. She’s had no luck changing what dishes people bring to church potlucks.
Ms. Goswiller started an exercise class and a balance class at the church. The balance class was specifically targeted at older women prone to falls and broken hips.
As it is throughout the United States, obesity is a problem in Albany. Ms. Gosswiller said some people resist her advice to lose weight, so she just keeps posting news about healthy lifestyle practices on the bulletin board.
During Lent last year, she got 76 church members involved in a Walk to Jerusalem program, issuing pedometers to participants who carefully logged the miles they walked, charting their progress on the 13,600- mile round trip over the course of 12 weeks. People unable to walk could get credit for Bible reading or visiting shut-ins.
“We made it all the way to Jerusalem and almost all the way back,” she said.
Ms. Gosswiller got the church to purchase an automated external defibrillator (a local health care provider paid half the cost) and then trained the ushers how to use it. And she has arranged a variety of other health-related educational opportunities, including a recent six-week series on Living Well with Chronic Conditions.
Dying well is also a focus of Ms. Gosswiller’s ministry, and in working with people in failing health, she says she encourages them and their families to avail themselves of local hospice services. “People tend to put off hospice care until a week before they die, and so they don’t get the full benefit of it. It gives critical support for the family and the patient, can provide household help, grocery shopping, pastoral care, social workers, nurses, people who are the experts on pain control. Hospice makes life easier and many people miss out on that,” she said. “Part of the problem can be physicians who don’t want to admit that maybe their patient is dying. They aren’t ready. But I remind people that it’s OK to flunk hospice. If you’re still alive after six months, it’s OK. You can keep going.”
Ms. Gosswiller’s work is an example of health ministry: an opportunity for a congregation to purposefully focus on holistic health, wellness and disease and injury prevention.
Ms. Magyar pointed out that churches can have health ministries without having a parish nurse. “You can work with a nutritionist or a social worker as part of health ministry at your church,” she said. “Others are qualified to engage in health ministry.”
Ms. Magyar recommended these steps in developing a health ministry in a local church:
- Talk with your pastor about health ministry.
- Have a group of people from the congregation pray over the idea.
- Talk with other churches who have health ministries and gather information. Check out the www.umcorhealth.org web site for information.
- Form a health committee at your church and develop a mission statement specific to your church.
- Survey the church to find out the health needs in the congregation.
- Implement a plan to meet the needs through the health ministry. Collaborate with other churches and hospitals to realize your health ministry goals.
- Evaluate the program and work to make your health ministry more effective.
Christian love
Another element of Ms. Gosswiller’s ministry is keeping the congregation’s pastor alive. “Pastors are on call 24-7 and often tend not to take time to care for themselves,” she said. “Many are overweight, have high blood pressure and are depressed. So I try to keep track of our pastor’s health, including his mental health. Keeping the pastor healthy is good for the congregation’s health.”
Ms. Gosswiller’s pastor, the Rev. Richard Fuss, said the congregation benefits greatly from her work as the parish nurse.
“Jill is like our Mother Teresa in many ways,” he said. “She takes the concept of service in Christian love and truly lives it out. Too many of us think we can love people in theory and simply wish them well.
Jill is a powerful reminder that we’re supposed to use our hands and feet and use our time and energy to care for others. Every day she is in the hospital and in people’s homes, providing comfort and knowledge to the congregation, helping it be a healthier space for God’s people.”
The Rev. Paul Jeffrey, a United Methodist missionary, is senior correspondent to Response. Barbara Wheeler is Response editor.
All photos by Paul Jeffrey. This article first appeared in the February 2009 issue of Response.
Copyright 2009 Women's Division, General Board of Global Ministries, United Methodist Church. Used by permission.
