Parish Health Ministry Mission and History

Mission

The lives we touch will experience wholeness of body, mind, and spirit.

Purpose

We are dedicated to continuing the healing ministry of Jesus by empowering individuals to move toward improved health of their body, mind, and spirit through the promotion of health and wholeness within Episcopal Retirement communities, partnering congregations, and the communities they serve.

In 1998, ERH embarked on a mission to support the connection between faith and health by developing its Parish Health Ministry program. Since then, more than 100 congregations have partnered with ERH to offer their members health activities and services.

History

In 1998, Episcopal Retirement Homes (ERH) embarked on a mission to support and strengthen the connection between faith and health by developing the Parish Health Ministry Program (PHM). Using a holistic approach, PHM asks churches to renew their role in health care. ERH coordinators work closely with congregation members in the development or enhancement of the ministry for their church and/or community. Through the work of the ministry, many people have made conscious decisions to improve their overall health in such ways as drinking more water, exercising regularly, and spending more time in mediation and prayer.

The movement stems to the healing ministry of Jesus, who promoted wholeness of body, mind, and spirit. It is based on the premise that health is not just the absence of disease, but rather the maximum attainable state of a person's emotional, intellectual, physical, social, spiritual, and vocational well-being.

Today, PHM has a relationship with over 80 churches throughout Southern Ohio. They provide ongoing support services to partnering churches by assisting them in meeting the holistic needs of their church members and community. Supported solely through financial donations, PHM invests nearly $2,200 per church to help improve the lives of their members. The services are available to congregations of all denominations, and PHM is committed to developing programs and providing educational opportunities which further provide leaders of the ministry with the tools needed to help members live well.

Click here to donate directly to Parish Health Ministry.