"Mountain Home” - ETSU - October 21, 2012
Jesus said, “Go home to your own people. Tell them your story—what the Master did, how he had mercy on you.” The man went back and began to preach in the Ten Towns area about what Jesus had done for him. He was the talk of the town.
Mark 5:18-20 The Message
We get some mixed messages when facing disease...”telling & sharing” or “privacy”. In the United States, we have “legalized” our privacy...”HIPPA”. In its simplest form, it is about the management of our health information. The other reality is that our communities are keys to our healing and we can use computer communication to share information on sites like “CarePages”.
Certainly, churches and church families regularly pray for and with patients who are part of their congregations. I think we need to be clear about how our faith communities can be part of the healing response. Susan Dunlap reveals the different styles and looks for the common themes. Most important is God’s presence in the our lives. Our faith stories are not just stories of our struggles, but testimonies of God’s healing. These cyber-communities are our new reality of sharing and reporting God’s Grace!
Marvin
Marvin
References:
Rev. Will Willimon, Jesus’ Health Care Plan
Susan J. Dunlap Caring Cultures: How Congregations Respond to the Sick
Ziebland S. Wyke S. Health and illness in a connected world: how might sharing experiences on the internet affect people's health?. Milbank Quarterly. 90(2):219-49, 2012 Jun
Rev. John Hage, A Love That Won’t Let You GO, 10/28/2012
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