Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 245 SEPTEMBER 2016 BODY OF CHRIST NEWS "Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven." — Matthew 5:14-16 King James Version (KJV) Igrew up here in Denver, in the inner city. Even though I now live in the suburbs, I frequently come back to my old neighborhood to do health ministry, attend church and for other business. My old neighborhood has undergone some changes, in that the demographics have changed somewhat, and some gentrification has occurred. However, not enough change has occurred for the better in my opinion. The house I grew up in is still present, but I am sorry to say it is even more ramshackle than when I lived there with my family of 13 people. Many of the houses I remember have not changed. There is a large vacant old building which was a place of business which has been seemingly abandoned for years. This area is in my opinion, a "food desert" as one has to travel some distance to find a large supermarket with healthier food choices and fresh produce. There are far too many fast food establish- ments. The area does not strike me as a place where people live and have high incomes. It could be worse, but on the other hand it could also be a lot better. I often think of what my church could do to help improve the situation and help people to live longer and better. We have many churches in the area. I think to myself we cannot just sit in our churches and listen to the preaching, and the praise team without doing some type of effective and meaningful community outreach. I have been reading about, and thinking about some things churches can do to change the com- munity around them. In this context, I have been reading about something referred to as the "social determinants of health". The US Center for Disease Control defines the social determinants of health as "life enhancing resources, such as food supply, hous- ing, economic and social rela- tionships, transportation, edu- cation and health care whose distribution across populations effectively determines length and quality of life." Included in regards to resources are access to health care, food, insurance coverage, income, housing and transportation. The goal is to influence health promoting behaviors and the achievement of health equity among groups in our population. We need to do all we can to do away with health disparities where one particular group no lon- ger suffers from unacceptable health disparities, despite their ethnicity, social standing or income. Surprisingly, to do this will require doing some things we may think have nothing to do with health care. Let me give an example. Just suppose we in or church heard that a local high school, or even young people in our own church had a disproportionately low rate of graduation from high school. What can we do? Should we just shrug our shoulders and shake our heads at this? Why don't we use our churches to be places where young people can get the following: free school supplies, tutoring, and mentoring. We can give instruction on study habits, encouragement in going on to college, information about the best college majors to get good jobs and employment. We can work with schools and teachers. This can lead to better success at high school, and in college. We can also give help to elementary and middle school students as is feasible. The result can be a higher income and improved economic status which indi- rectly can lead to improvement in family health. Just food for thought. We can give community instruction and lectures on health topics (even sensitive ones) including: ■ ■ HIV/AIDS, Sexually trans- mitted diseases ■ ■ Reduction of high infant mortality and promotion of maternal and child health ■ ■ Diabetes information-includ- ing screening for diabetes ■ ■ Heart disease and stroke, with hypertension screening and cholesterol screening ■ ■ Depression and other relat- ed mental health issues ■ ■ Smoking cessation, and overcoming drug addictions ■ ■ Nutrition and cooking class- es ■ ■ Exercise and weight control instruction ■ ■ The importance of having and using health insurance ■ ■ Getting screened for diseases even if you feel well ■ ■ Alzheimer's diseases, and dementia ■ ■ Living longer and still in good health We can give aid and relief to the homeless, Help those who have been in prison avoid re-entry to the prison system. Have "farmer's markets" and com- munity gardens in our community to improve access to healthy produce It is possible for several churches to work together to do ministry for our communities The above is not an exhaustive list if things we can do and I have mentioned things I have been involved with in the past with a few exceptions. We need to remember that even though we might not think it possible, there is a lot churches can do to help their communities. Let us do what Jesus suggested, and let our lights shine. HowChurchesCanChangeTheirCommunities Dr. Conner By Byron E. Conner, M.D. HEALTH Just suppose we in or church heard that a local high school, or even young people in our own church had a disproportionately low rate of graduation from high school. What can we do? Should we just shrug our shoulders and shake our heads at this? 1. WILLIAM MURPHY - DEMONSTRATE / CD/DVD 2. DONNIE MCCLURKIN - THE JOURNEY/LIVE 3. JOHN P. KEE - THE CHURCH CHOIR 4. JEKALYN CARR - THE LIFE PROJECT 5. HEZEKIAH WALKER - BETTER 6. JONATHAN NELSON - FEARLESS 7. DAYNA CADDELL - PUSH 8. EARL CARTER - MY LIFE IN YOUR HANDS 9. CHARLES JENKINS - THINK ABOUT THESE THINGS 10 CHICAGO MASS - WE GIVE YOU PRAISE