published on Friday, June 15, 2012 by kjm20@duke.edu
Our blog has moved to a new site: http://sites.duke.edu/theconnection.
We're featuring lots of great ideas, resources, and stories about the progress pastors are making through our wellness program, Spirited Life.
We hope you'll join us there!
published on Tuesday, December 13, 2011 by kjm20@duke.edu
There’s strong evidence that St. Mary’s of Bethlehem, an ancient hospital in London noted for its care of the mentally ill, is the source for the word bedlam, meaning chaos and cacophony. The account has it that the word Bethlehem underwent the process of contraction common in English until it became cockneyfied into bedlam. The name for the town where Jesus was born gradually decayed into a word synonymous with the cries of the mentally ill.
It may be helpful for pastors to recall this bit of etymology as they move through Advent and into the celebration of the Incarnation.
Not only are there additional services of worship to plan and lead, but the stresses of the season also increase the requests for pastoral care. Add to those tasks the lamentable state of the economy and the expectations of the Christmas-and-Easter folk that something fresh, new and exciting be provided just for them – ours is a consumer culture, after all – and the pastor’s life can veer toward the bedlam-ish side of the scale.
How to recover Bethlehem?
Let the Holy Spirit do the heavy lifting, as He did at Pentecost, when He delivered humanity from the bedlam of Babel and gave it a common salvation story. Give away the need to preach the finest sermon on Incarnation since John penned his Logos discourse, and let the scriptures and hymns carry the freight. Isn’t this what Handel did in Messiah? “Comfort, ye, my people,” wasn’t original to George F., was it?
Don’t be afraid that the congregation will hear too many lections and carols; that cannot happen. The Sacred Story has enormous power to surprise even the pew-calloused afresh. And it has been known to shock some folk into the company of the Magi. Relax and summon in the Spirit.
Ed Moore
Director of Theological Education and Conference Relations
Duke Clergy Health Initiative
published on Tuesday, October 4, 2011 by jbjames@duke.edu
Here is some local news with potential for a ripple effect across the U.S.:
North Carolina will become a healthcare reform test bed through a new public-private partnership that aims to see if a Medicaid management program that has saved more than $1 billion can also bring savings and efficiencies when applied to the private sector.
First in Health is being rolled out to employees of GlaxoSmithKline, SAS Institute, Kerr Drugs, Blue Cross Blue Shield of NC, and the State of North Carolina. First in Health has been adapted from a care-coordination program used with recipients of Medicare and S-CHIP. It does not replace employees' existing health plans, but is a voluntary add-on.
The program will be administered by Community Care of North Carolina (CCNC), which is widely recognized as an innovator in population health and care coordination. CCNC features top information technology as well as "high touch" professionals who manage and coordinate care for their clients. CCNC reminds me a little bit of the United Methodist Church in the way they provide service: CCNC coordinators may work with a single large medical office, but in rural areas they may be on a "multi-point charge," serving several medical practices.
CCNC is founded on the concept of "medical home," an increasingly prominent term in discussions of health care reform. It refers to a central clearinghouse of health data for each patient that is fed and drawn upon by various specialists when providing care. But it’s also a mindset: proponents of "medical home" also call on physicians to employ a different set of values and ways of thinking. The emphasis is on:
This all sounds pretty close to the job description of the wellness advocates that our Spirited Life participants work with during their two years of wellness services.
First In Health is a pilot program. Its results are yet to be seen, and whatever the results are, they will be spun a variety of ways by policy makers. (Some commentators dispute the dollar value of the Medicare add-on that precedes this private sector effort.) But this start-up builds on ideas and approaches that the Duke Clergy Health Initiative shares, so we will be watching the progress of First in Health with great hopes.
Shalom y'all,
John
John James, M.A.
Research Analyst, Clergy Health Initiative
