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Women of the ELCA
groups and
individuals are
getting excited about
the health
initiative. Read what
others are doing —
maybe even get an
idea for your unit or
group. Then
send us
your brief story
about your
health-related activities
and we'll post it
here.
October 1, 2006
Participants at the
Healthy Hearts event
in Chicago shared
what they are doing
in their
congregations.
Jan Hultgren
participates in the "St. Paul Healthy Heart Million-Minute Challenge." She told
the audience about the program that involves about 20 people at any time at St.
Paul Lutheran Church, Villa Park, Ill. It began about three
years ago, Hultgren said. Participants keep track of the minutes they exercise —
walking, cycling, jogging, etc. — and phone in their numbers each month. Totals
are recorded on a chart at the church and reported in the bulletin, she said. Each February,
around St. Valentine's Day, the congregation hosts a heart-healthy lunch or
breakfast, to celebrate progress and to present awards. Hultgren said
participants are about 280,000 minutes away from meeting the challenge to log
one million minutes of exercise.
At Capital Drive
Lutheran Church, Milwaukee, "The Journey to Healthy Living" uses competition as
an incentive. Julie Pekarske, RN, serves as parish nurse for the congregation in
partnership with Luther Manor, Wauwatosa, Wis. Participants receive
a book with suggested Bible readings and information about healthy food and
activities — from exercise to social events and service opportunities. Pekarske
told the audience that points are awarded for each activity. Each week the 30 to
40 participants phone in their points, and the numbers are totaled for each of
their teams, she said. "We did it before Thanksgiving," Pekarske said. "People
did feel good about going into the holidays, because they were eating healthier
and exercising," she said.
June 12, 2006
 We
have had our meeting
and a few women from
our congregation are
going to walk two
mornings a week using
the "Here I Step:
Summer Steppin'"
program from the ELCA
Board of Pensions.
(The walking group is
open to the entire
congregation;
however, only women
are participating at
this point.) I hope
that more people will
join us once we
begin. Those who
cannot join us in the
morning due to
schedule conflicts
are walking on their
own (with or without
a buddy) and using
the same summer
program. We plan to
walk for the intended
six weeks but hope to
walk the entire
summer. We will meet,
pray, stretch, and
then go on a walk
(according to ability
level).
Sincerely,
Carrie Tate
Holy Cross Lutheran
Church, ELCA
Beatrice, Nebraska
Ed. note: See the
health page for a
link to the Summer
Steppin' program.
May 5, 2006
Since I became
president of our
Women of the ELCA
group at St. John,
and did not know much
about Women of the
ELCA, I have used
Lutheran Woman Today
and Interchange
to bring
information to our
group. I have been
one of the primary
leaders for the "Act
Boldly in the Fruit
of the Spirit" Bible
study, and always
gave a presentation
on Praying for
Peacemakers and
Health Wise. The
Health Wise subjects
have been very
informative and well
received by our
group, which is small
— 5 to 10
participants each
month. So I made a
decision to have a
major meeting,
calling it a meeting
on the Women of the
ELCA Health
Initiative, once a
year during this
triennium.
The first meeting was
held March 26. The
theme was a "Sunday
Afternoon Tea" with
silver teapots and
tiny sandwiches,
fruit, and tea. I
contacted our local
hospital and the
Chief of OB/GYN
volunteered to speak
to us. It was a
success. Thirty women
attended. The doctor
gave a graphic talk
on up-to-date
procedures for
incontinence and an
update on cancer
treatment. The talk
was up-front and
personal, but the
information was well
received. Since the
median age of our
group is about 60,
most of the women
could relate to the
information. They
thought it was a
great idea to have a
health meeting. Two
of them have offered
to prepare an agenda
that includes a
Health Initiative
program in September
2006 at our next
general meeting,
covering general
wellness.
We are fortunate in
our town to have
another hospital that
has a very active
Wellness Office. The
director of the
Wellness Office gave
a talk at the
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton
Cluster meeting on
April 1 in Towanda,
Pa.
The point of this
e-mail is that women
are taking the health
initiative seriously
and a women's church
group can be
effective in getting
information on health
issues. I wanted to
share my joy and
enthusiasm with Women
of the Evangelical
Lutheran Church in
America and let you
know this is a great
program for the
2005–2008 triennium.
Joyce Egge, President
Women of the ELCA
St. John Lutheran
Church
Sayre, Pennsylvania
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