To Sleep, Perchance to Dream, v.3

published on Tuesday, December 22, 2009 by admin

If you’ve taken steps to create a more peaceful environment and made changes to your daily routine to better prepare your body for rest, only to find that you still have poor or interrupted sleep, an underlying medical condition could be the cause. This merits a discussion with your doctor.
Arthritis, diabetes, heart disease (especially congestive heart failure), breathing difficulties, urinary urgency, overactive thyroid, cancer, reflux disease (GERD), Alzheimer's and Parkinson's all can interfere with sleep. If you're already being treated for any of these conditions, you might want to mention your sleep difficulties to your doctor.

Flickr/SailingLikewise, if you snore, or if you have had to add a second pillow in order to sleep more comfortably, please tell your physician. Snoring may be a sign of other illness, usually obstruction of your upper airway. Needing to elevate your head in order to breathe and sleep may also be a new symptom, and it deserves a mention at your next visit.

Finally, insomnia is a common side effect of many medications. Your pharmacy is likely to mark those medications that make you drowsy, but it is also a good idea to ask either your doctor or pharmacist about the likely effects of any new medication on your ability to sleep. Sometimes all it takes is a change in your dosing schedule to see an improvement in your sleep.

Keep a list of the medicines you take, and their doses and schedules, in a document on your computer. Be sure to update it every time you take something new, or whenever you stop taking a medicine. List your over-the-counter drugs as well. Then take the updated list to every doctor's visit, including urgent care and emergency room visits. Doing so will save lots of time: it will prompt the physician to ask you the right questions and provide you an opportunity to raise any concerns. Your pharmacist also can be a wonderful source of information about managing drug side effects, so share the list with him or her if you have additional questions.

Yours in [restful] health,
Robin

Robin Swift, MPH
Health Programs Director
Clergy Health Initiative

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Baptizing the PPRC

published on Friday, December 18, 2009 by admin

The PPRC -- Pastor-Parish Relations Committee -- plays an important role in the United Methodist Church, including annually advising the Bishop whether or not the appointed pastor should remain at their church or itinerate to a new congregation. While the PPRC is instructed to "engage in biblical and theological reflection on the mission of the church" (Book of Discipline: 180), it is not asked to undertake its work in remembrance of baptism.

Such remembering could make a significant difference in the ways a PPRC functions.

Consider this: Many United Methodist congregations schedule a Reaffirmation of the Baptismal Covenant early in the new year. This is good discipline, since a Wesleyan theology of baptism affirms that the sacrament "signifies the whole working of God's grace," but that the human response to that grace "will need to happen during the course of a lifetime" (UM Book of Worship: 81-82). In other words, daily remembrance of baptism is Christian duty, and that remembrance ought to be foundational to all the workings of our congregations. Even our committee meetings.

Remembrance in the sacramental sense -- "do this in remembrance of me" -- has a particular meaning: to make the power of a past event present in the now. When the Bread and Cup are received "in remembrance," the entirety of Christ's saving work in the passion and resurrection are present at the Table. At the font, the unshakable Word of God is pronounced, naming the one baptized as God's Own. The blessed one may turn her back on God's Word, but the Word to her and about her remains potent.

What if the PPRC began its meetings with a reaffirmation of the baptismal covenant, casting all its deliberations in terms of responsiveness to the sacrament? What if it were convicted that all it does ought to be done as if its members were encircling the font? Would it then have a different perspective on its work, seeing it as ministry vital to the nurture of the congregation?

What if the PPRC saw itself as always on journey from the font to the Kingdom, instead of merely performing one more administrative function in the life of the church? Would those on that journey see their work -- their ministry -- differently?

And for the pastor who seeks deeper, more meaningful support from this body: what effects could this commitment to a shared journey create in your congregation?

Pax Tecum,
Ed

Ed Moore
Executive Director
Leadership Education at Duke Divinity

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Losing To Win

published on Tuesday, December 15, 2009 by admin

Let's give it up for Pastor Randy Maynard and St. Andrews United Methodist Church in Raleigh. St. Andrews is in a weight-loss contest with three neighboring churches, and Randy is setting the pace, having lost 43 pounds in a little under 90 days. (Am I reading this right? Wow!)

Here is Yonat Shimron's write-up in the Raleigh N&O;. This sounds like a wonderful idea, bringing congregants and whole churches together, and highlighting the links between body and spirit, and between health and Christian discipleship.

Shalom y'all,

John

John James, M.A.
Research Coordinator
Clergy Health Initiative

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