Table Of Content“Dear friend, I
pray that you
may enjoy good
health and that
all may go well
with you, even
as your soul is
getting along
well.”
3 John 1:2
saving lives through health literaCy | a guiDe for your plaCe of faith anD worship
TABLE OF CONTENTS
A Letter from a Pastor .................................................................................................................................... 2
Introduction and Purpose of the Guide .......................................................................................................... 4
The Four Pillars................................................................................................................................................. 7
Pillar 1: A Pastor Who is Committed and Involved
Pillar 2: Church Activities that Promote a Healthy Lifestyle
Pillar 3: A Church Environment that Promotes Healthy Lifestyle Living and Health Literacy
Pillar 4: Saving Lives Health Advocates and Peer Counseling that Motivates Church Members to Live
Healthy
Healthy Living and Wellness Defned ........................................................................................................... 8
Saving Lives Affrmations ................................................................................................................................ 8
Bringing Saving Lives to you place of faith and worship ............................................................................... 9
Faith based organizational activities that promote healthy eating and well being ..................................... 10
Customizing Saving Lives for your church ................................................................................................... 12
Keeping the spirit alive ................................................................................................................................. 13
Success stories ............................................................................................................................................... 15
The good news about fruits and vegetables ................................................................................................ 17
What’s in fruits and vegetables? .................................................................................................................. 19
The colors of health ..................................................................................................................................... 20
How many servings do you need each day? ............................................................................................... 21
What’s a serving? It’s all in your hand ........................................................................................................ 22
The history of Saving Lives .......................................................................................................................... 23
Appendix A: Planning Materials
• Roles and Responsibilities of the Church Coordinator and Planning Team
• Agenda for First Planning Team Meeting
• Educational Activity Task List and Timeline
• Educational Activity Planning Form
• Educational Activity Feedback Form — What Do You Think?
• Hands-on Health and Well-being Activities
• August 2012 | Health Care Screening Agenda of Activities
• February 2013 | Workshop | Appointed Pills
• Research Questions
Saving Lives — a university-faith based partnership for health and well-being
PLUMGROVE BAPTIST CHURCH
Rev. Tyshawn Gardner, Senior Pastor
CHURCH LOGO AND TAGLINE
Members,
God cares about every aspect of our lives. His Word says, “Beloved, I wish above all things that
thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth.” (3: John 2).
Sadly, many Americans, African American Church leaders in particular, have gone home to the
Lord too early in life from diseases that can be prevented. I see them die in their 40s, 50s, and early
60s. This is just when their wisdom and guidance is most needed to instruct the next generation.
Brethren, this ought not be!
Eating a healthy diet along with an active lifestyle may help us lower our chances of diseases such
as high blood pressure, stroke, diabetes, heart disease, and some types of cancer. The National Cancer
Institute recommends eating 5 to 9 servings of fruits and vegetables a day because it’s important for
our health.
From the beginning, God knew what kinds of food He wanted us to eat.
“Then God said, ‘I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree
that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food.” (Genesis 1:29).
Join me in embracing the University of Alabama Saving Lives Initiative, a program for faith based
organizations to increase health literacy and promote health and wellness. SLI is here to improve the
health and wellness of all involved.
Trust me. It is easy to bring healthy eating and wellness practices into the church when you
prayerfully and diligently use the program. Doing SLI hands-on interactive activities and participating
in the health screenings is a blessing beyond measure.
Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, who you have
received from God?” Let’s start treating our body like the temple that it is.
In Love,
Pastor Tyshawn Gardner, Ph.D.
2 Saving Lives — a university-faith based partnership for health and well-being
“You must start at the center of the
community, which is the church in African
American communities.”
The Rev. Dr. Melvin B. Tuggle III, author of
“It is Well With My Soul—Churches and
Institutions Collaborating for Public Health”
Beautiful Garden of Prayer Baptist Church, Baltimore, MD
Saving Lives — a university-faith based partnership for health and well-being 3
INTRODUCTION
PURPOSE OF THIS GUIDE • Advocate support.
The Saving Lives Initiative (SLI) program is a This guide explains how to run the program in
university-faith based health literacy and well-being your place of faith and worship. It tells how to create
program developed for places of faith and worship in a SLI program to ft your congregation. It also has
the rural south. The program is designed to empower tools and handouts to get started, and resources for
faith based leaders and congregational members more information.
to engage in activities that will enhance their
physical, mental, emotional and spiritual well-being.
According to our current President of the United
States, Barack Obama, faith based organizations
are the bedrock of American communities. Faith
based organizations that embrace SLI can help their
members take care of their bodies as well as their
spirits.
There are several health initiative ongoing
throughout the rural south. However, most rural
health and wellness programs do not extract the
threads of religious scripture and weave them into WHY SLI — THE POWER OF KNOWLEDGE
daily practical approaches towards healthy lifestyle AND PREVENTION
living. Unique health care challenges face America’s 62
million rural citizens nationally, including almost
“Now faith is the substance of things hoped 2 million in Alabama. Today, more than ever
for, the evidence of things not seen” (KJV). before, Alabama must address accessibility issues,
And, “without faith, it is impossible to please a lack of health care providers, and the needs of an
God“ (1 John 5:4; Hebrews 11:6). aging population suffering from a greater number
of chronic conditions, and larger percentages of
SLI works by combining: underinsured and uninsured citizens.
• Pastoral leadership African Americans make up a large part of many
• Hands-on educational activities related to health rural counties in Alabama particularly counties
and wellness; located in the Black Belt Region. African Americans
• A faith based environment (church, synagogue, in the rural south are often at a higher risk for many
temple, etc) that supports healthy eating; serious and often fatal diseases. These include high
• Peer counseling; blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and
4 Saving Lives — a university-faith based partnership for health and well-being
cancer. African Americans are also more likely to
HEART SMART QUIZ
suffer serious health problems and die from these
often preventable diseases. Therefore, the SLI 1. Which of the following is the “silent killer”
program begins as a pilot program initially targeted because it usually has no symptoms?
stroke
to the African American faith based community. The
high cholesterol
program will continue to develop to include other high blood pressure
hemophilia
ethnic and religious groups in the second, third
and subsequent years. The audience will expand to
2. Which of the following is NOT a risk factor
include leaders and congregational members from for cardiovascular disease?
obesity
synagogues, mosques, and a diversity of faith based
consumption of aspirin
organizations located in rural Alabama and across cigarette smoking
elevated blood cholesterol
the nation.
stress
What can you do to lower your risk for
disease? The National Cancer Institute for example 3. Which of the following changes in lifestyle are
recommended to treat or prevent hypertension?
recommends eating 5 to 9 servings of fruits and
do not smoke
vegetables a day. According to the American Heart limit dietary salt intake
exercise regularly
Association and the U.S. Department of Health and
control weight
Human Services-National Institutes of Health, if
All of the above lifestyle changes are
you are overweight or obese, work with your doctor recommended to treat or prevent
hypertension.
to create a reasonable weight-loss plan that involves
diet and physical activity. Controlling your weight 4. The symptoms of heart failure include
helps you control risk factors for coronary heart __________.
fatigue
disease and heart attack. Be as physically active as
shortness of breath
you can. Physical activity can improve your ftness fuid accumulation
All of the above are symptoms of heart
level and your health. Talk with your doctor about
failure.
what types of activity are safe for you. If you smoke,
weakness
quit. Smoking can raise your risk of CHD and heart
The answers to the questions can be found on Page XX
attack. Talk with your doctor about programs and
in the Appendix.
products that can help you quit. Also, try to avoid
secondhand smoke. To assess how heart smart you
are take the multiple choice quiz below on Coronary
Heart Disease.
THE BENEFITS OF SLI TO YOUR CHURCH
SLI organizations embrace and celebrate good
health and well-being. Your congregation will:
Saving Lives — a university-faith based partnership for health and well-being 5
• Learn how health and spirituality are
connected;
• Feel empowered to take charge of their health;
• Eat more fruits and vegetables every day;
• Live healthier in other ways, such as eating less
fat and getting more physical activity;
• Gain access to vital health information at the
church.
Remember, the approach for SLI was purposely
selected because of its compatibility with the existing to increase health literacy across marginalized
religious cultural norms of citizens in rural Alabama communities.
and nation. There are monthly activities scheduled The SLI curricula activities are based on activities
for each participating organization. Each activity outlined in the Body & Soul curricula guide. For
is supported by a specifc scripture. For example, 10 years, African American churches around the
in August a workshop is scheduled with the title: country have used the Body & Soul program. They
Appointed Pills: Which ones are you taking and have shared their ideas, tips, and success stories. The
why? The supporting scripture is “And the prayer SLI program is building on what is already in place
offered in faith will make the sick person well; and to continue with the promotion of health wellness
the Lord will raise him up”: James 5:15-16. and literacy for rural Americans. Once SLI is thriving
The SLI program includes a research component in your church or place of worship, please share what
with university faculty attempting to answer you learned with other faith based organizations in
persisting questions on the types of programmatic your community.
interventions and community engagement strategies
that can help eliminate health disparities in rural
communities and implement necessary strategies
6 Saving Lives — a university-faith based partnership for health and well-being
SLI FOUR PILLARS
are: spiritual, nutritional, social, environmental,
“The African emotional, intellectual, and mental.
American 3. Faith based environments that promote healthy
eating and well-being. It’s important to surround
Community is in a
the congregation with healthy choices at meals
crisis. We are at the
and other functions. This shows members how
top of the charts for
simple it is to make eating more fruits and
chronic diseases.”
vegetables part of their daily lives.
Body & Soul Church Coordinator, 4. Peer counseling and advocates that motivate
California congregational members to eat a healthy diet,
engage in physical activity and maintain their
The Saving Lives Initiative program is made up emotional and spiritual wellbeing. One-on-one
of four parts. We call these parts “pillars” and base as well as communal support help congregational
our pillars on the four pillars outlined in the Body & members take more control over their health.
Soul program (National Cancer Institute, 2004). Just
as a church building needs support on all four sides,
a successful SLI program needs all four of its “pillars”
to be active and strong. All four pillars must be in
place to build an effective SLI program.
THE FOUR PILLARS OF SLI ARE:
1. A pastoral leader who is committed and involved.
As the leader of most faith based organizations
in the rural south, the pastor’s support of the
program is vital. The more actively involved the
pastor is the better.
2. Faith based organizational activities that promote
healthy eating and well-being. Gatherings and
workshops teach both information and skills that
encourage a healthy diet. The SLI Planning Team
and Health Advocates plan and carry out the
program activities. The SLI activities will focus on
the 8 components of health and wellness. They
Saving Lives — a university-faith based partnership for health and well-being 7
HEALTH AND WELLNESS DEFINED
According to the World Health Organization there is no possibility of improving. Processing in
(WHO), health is a state of complete physical, wellness conveys infnity. Aware means that we are
mental, and social well-being and not merely the by our nature continuously seeking information
absence of disease or infrmity. According to the about how we can improve. Choices mean that
National Wellness Institute (NWI), wellness is an we have considered a variety of options and select
active process of becoming aware of and making those that seem to be in our best interest. Success
choices toward a more successful existence. The is determined by each individual to their personal
key words are process, aware, choices and success. collection of accomplishments for their life.
Process means that we never arrive at a point where
HEALTH LITERACY DEFINED
Health literacy according to U.S. Department of and using health information. When patients lack
Health Resources and Administration is the ability to the ability to understand and act upon medical
read, understand and act upon health information. information, it can put their health at risk.
Health literacy is now known to be vital to good Low health literacy is more prevalent among
patient care and positive health outcomes. According the following U.S. citizens-older adults, minority
to the Institute of Medicine’s groundbreaking report populations, lower income individuals and the
on health literacy, nearly half of all American adults medically underserved.
— 90 million people — have diffculty understanding
HEALTH AND WELLNESS AFFIRMATIONS FOR A AFFIRMATIONS FOR
AFFIRMATIONS PHYSICALLY FIT BODY WELLNESS AND HEALING
• I am living a joyful, balanced life • “My mind, body and soul are • “Experiencing stillness
of ease in an abundant world. in perfect harmony.” between thoughts, helps me
Kerri McCutcheon, InnerVitality • “My cells know what to do, to listen to what my body is
• I am living the life of my keep my body in balance.” saying.”
dreams right now. I give myself • “My body knows what is best
permission to heal. for me to thrive.”
Kerri McCutcheon, InnerVitality
8 Saving Lives — a university-faith based partnership for health and well-being
