Release date: Aug. 19, 2004
Contact: Elaine Justice, Associate Director, University Media Relations,
at 404-727-0643 or ejustic@emory.edu

Emory Conference to Explore Bridge Between Faith, Health

The connection between spiritual faith, bodily health and practical steps for the future will be explored by health care leaders, theologians and scholars gathering at Emory University Oct. 11-13 for a public conference on "Bridging Faith and Health: The Role of the Church."

Conference leaders, including theologians from Emory's Candler School of Theology, public health professionals from Emory's Rollins School of Public Health, researchers from its Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing and physicians from the School of Medicine, will conduct sessions on the faith and health connection from a variety of perspectives. Participants will examine current research, make suggestions for ways that religion and health might be related, explore ministries that promote individual and community health, and address justice and equity issues in health care.

"Faith and health have long been companions in the Christian tradition," says Russell Richey, dean of Candler, which is spearheading the conference. "The church's commitment to healing is evident throughout its history."

The conference is a response to the growing interest by faith communities in health issues, an interest long held by the African-American church, says Alton Pollard, director of Black Church Studies at Candler. "The African-American church recognizes that it must address both the spiritual and physicalincluding the social, psychological, political, economic and emotional well-being of people in a community--or be seen as irrelevant."

Conference speakers will include Joycelyn Elders, former surgeon general of the United States, now professor of pediatrics at the University of Arkansas Medical Center; G. Scott Morris, founder and executive director of the Church Health Center, Memphis, Tenn.; nationally known preacher Fred Craddock, Bandy Distinguished Professor of Preaching and New Testament Emeritus at Candler; and Gerald Durley, senior pastor of Providence Missionary Baptist Church in Atlanta, among many others.

Workshops include: church contributions to the health of communities; nurses in partnership for community health; preparing parishioners to make ethical decisions; how long-term survivors of HIV/AIDS are challenging pastoral theology and practice; refugee communities and health; the church and mental health; how science illuminates opportunities for health; and preaching for health and wholeness, among others.

Cost of the conference is $130 prior to Sept. 15, $150 after that date. Daily fee options are available, as well as continuing education credits. For more information on continuing education credits call call 404-727- 0714. To download a brochure and registration form, go to: http://candler.emory.edu/events.cfm.

Emory University is known for its demanding academics, outstanding undergraduate college of arts and sciences, highly ranked professional schools and state-of-the-art research facilities. For more than a decade Emory has been named one of the country's top 25 national universities by U.S. News & World Report. In addition to its nine schools, the university encompasses The Carter Center, Yerkes National Primate Research Center and Emory Healthcare, a comprehensive metropolitan health care system.

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