DOCTORS ACKNOWLEDGE BENEFITS OF RELIGION IN HEALING

"ABSOLUTELY, THERE'S A LINK between people's grounding in religious or spiritual feelings and their wellness," said Tom McGovern, professor of psychiatry at Texas Tech's Health Sciences Center. McGovern broached the topic recently at the Health Sciences Center's Community Medical School, a series of lectures presented to the public by distinguished faculty.

People use their spirituality to navigate life, McGovern told his audience of about 100. Religious people cope better under stress, heal faster from their illnesses, and experience benefits to their mental health, he said.

"If a person's community is built around a religious or spiritual quest, that can be a powerful mediator of healing," McGovern said.

More than 90 percent of McGovern's audience believed religion and spirituality are beneficial to their health, according to interactive responses collected and displayed at the talk. Ninety-three percent of the audience said prayer or meditation helped them reduce stress.

Despite the role of spirituality in wellness, many healthcare providers are still reluctant to incorporate it into care, said McGovern. The professor directs a humanities and ethics committee at the Health Sciences Center and helps medics develop a sensitivity to patients' beliefs.

That's because medical professionals—often seen as an authority—might fear inflicting their own beliefs on patients, said Sharmila Dissanaike, an assistant professor of surgery at the Health Sciences Center.

"I don't think the topic has been avoided; it just hasn't been brought to the forefront," she said. "Physicians are unsure about whether they are overstepping the boundaries." ...

Spirituality and religion can be useful components of healing plans, said McGovern. [Psychology Clinic director and researcher Stephen] Cook said there is evidence spirituality can improve psychotherapy.

"We know from research and treatment in psychology that when cognitive therapy is framed within the context of (a person's) religion, it is more effective at treating depression," he said.

Seventy-three percent of McGovern's audience said their religious or spiritual needs went unaddressed by their healthcare providers. Providers have tended to neglect religious issues in clinical care, McGovern said.

"One of the constraints is we don't have the time," said Dissanaike, who treats patients at University Medical Center. "I don't bring it up, but I'm open to (a discussion) if the patient does."

McGovern said spiritual awareness is part of the medical school's curriculum. Over the last decade, he has been stepping up efforts to highlight the benefits of religion and spirituality in patients' lives, he said. "I think patients should have an invitation to talk," he said. If spirituality is important, he told his audience, they should ask providers to talk about its place in prevention, healing, and end-of-life care.

"Sickness always challenges meaning," he said. "If spirituality and religion can help provide that, it's important to talk about."

Sarah Nightingale
"Power to Heal: Religion, spirituality can be good for your health"
Lubbock Avalanche-Journal. Used with permission.
lubbockonline.com/stories/042710/loc_624671040.shtml
April 27, 2010

HOMELESS MINISTRY PUTS EMPHASIS ON LISTENING

MANY CHRISTIAN MINISTRIES help the homeless people who hang out around Moore Square in downtown Raleigh [North Carolina].

Love Wins is best defined by what it doesn't do. It doesn't invite homeless people to church. It doesn't distribute pamphlets describing the way of salvation. It doesn't even talk about Jesus.

Yes, the ministry does offer food. On Saturday and Sunday mornings, there are biscuits and coffee in a corner of the square. But as the volunteers will tell you, the food is merely a prop. The real ministry happens after the food is long gone.

It's then that the real sharing takes place. Last weekend, James Clifton, 53, was happy to catch up after a stint in jail. Richard Shay, 60, unfolded the begging permit a police officer forced him to take out and showed it to folks. Eldridge Williams, 52, told about his new job holding up signs on street corners pointing drivers to a furniture store sale.

For nearly two hours, a casual exchange took place, one that lies at the heart of what this two-year-old ministry is about.

"If we have a goal, it's relationships," said Hugh Hollowell, 37, the ministry's founder and director. "All the good things that happen happen through relationship."

Over the past two years, Hollowell and a handful of other dedicated Christians have bailed some of these street people out of jail, accompanied them to court hearings, helped them find public defenders, found them rooms to stay in, intervened with landlords for those ready to rent, washed their clothes, and bought them work boots. But most of all they've stood and listened.

Clifton, who has known the group members for more than two years, said he had nothing but admiration for them. "I love them," he said. "They're my people. It's like a family circle." ...

A year ago, a police car ran into Clifton and broke his neck. Hollowell got him into a rooming house and paid his $90-a-week rent while he recuperated. "A lot homeless work is predicated on the idea that 'We know how to fix you,'" Hollowell said. "A lot of social services are in the personal trainer mode. We're in the people mode. We think they're valuable because they exist."

Among the handful of people similarly dedicated to unconditionally loving homeless people, Hollowell does it full time. A former Marine who worked as a financial planner in Memphis for several years, Hollowell found his journey up and down the social success ladder dizzying. ...

The realization that a homeless person was as valuable to God as he was "messed" him up, Hollowell said, and he began to envision a life dedicated to ministering to homeless people.

But Hollowell discovered that homeless people didn't want another Christian helping them. In fact, many didn't have a high regard for church folk. They just wanted someone to talk to. So he listened.

Along the way, he found other Christians who had reached the same conclusions. Last year, they founded Love Wins Ministry. With the help of local churches and individuals, the ministry was able to operate on a budget of $20,000, including Hollowell's annual salary of $12,000. ...

Of course, it's hard to persuade people to give money to a ministry whose goal is to build relationships. Most ministries want to show donors a set of outcomes—the number of people it converted or the number of meals served. But Hollowell is undeterred.

"We're not out to proselytize," he said. "We're out to value their humanity."

Yonat Shimron
"Ministry reaches homeless by listening"
The News & Observer. May 20, 2010