Faith Community Nursing

If you follow a religion or have a spiritual practice, your faith can be an important part of the way you view the world. If you or a family member has concerns about staying healthy, you may want to receive guidance at your place of worship. You can get resources from Novant Health to bring together your faith and your health goals.

Faith community nurses

Once called parish nurses, faith community nurses offer medical and spiritual care within places of worship. These nurses use their knowledge of medicine and their personal faith practice to provide holistic care for your physical, emotional and spiritual health. This specialized area of nursing is recognized by the American Nurses Association. Novant Health’s faith community nursing program is available to partner with a range of religious congregations, including churches, mosques and synagogues.

Faith community nurses play a number of roles in the places where they serve, including:

• Presenting health and wellness programs to congregations
• Making referrals to local community resources
• Managing volunteers for care teams and support groups within faith communities

Congregational health promoters

If you are a member of a congregation who cares about the health of your community, you are eligible to become a Novant Health congregational health promoter. Volunteers train in topics such as heart and breast health. This training allows those volunteers to teach others about setting wellness goals and preventing common illnesses. It is free to become a promoter, and you can receive your training in English or Spanish. The time commitment for this role is usually four to five hours a week.

If you would like to learn more about our parish nurses and health ministries, contact the Novant Health location nearest you.