On St. Croix, students of the University of the Virgin Islands (UVI) School of Nursing partnered with the Seventh-day Adventist (SDA) Church for Health Expo 2016. Residents packed the Central SDA Church’s multi-purpose center on Sunday, October 23, 2016, to benefit from mental health counselling and the NEWSTART resource for improved lifestyle management.
Teams from the Central and Hope SDA congregations set up various stations and each highlighted the meaning of one letter in the acronym: Nutrition, Exercise, Water, Sunlight, Time, Air, Rest, Trust in God. The stations provided: Health assessments, nutritious food samples, massage treatment, stress management strategies, nutrition information for children, and mental wellness counselling which was primarily for people in the community with impaired mental health.
Dr. Ruth Douglass, Health Director of the North Caribbean Conference, affirmed the community project: “With the large social buzz surrounding fitness and health, Seventh-day Adventists have much to offer to help create a healthy lifestyle. [In addition to the workshops and screening], attendees could learn tasty, inexpensive, healthy recipes or quick daily routines for exercises.” She elaborated on the SDA Church’s offering the unique opportunity for mental well-being services and seeking to de-stigmatize mental disorders which she described as “…conscious or subconscious misbalance of the central nervous system.”
Benita Randolph and Eva Davis, health ministries leaders of the congregations and event organisers, emphasized that the services were free for the community. Benita Randolph added: “Health is not the most important thing on people’s minds and people are coming in from the community and that’s really good. [Mental health] is a neglected area and there are lots of people who need care.”
One attendee shared that she seized this opportunity to check her cholesterol and blood pressure—she was relieved to find out that she had improved, since last year, and welcomed information on how to manage these critical areas. Excitedly, she continued, “My experience was brilliant. I am connecting with people, but also going to the different stalls.”
Pastor Wilmoth James who leads the congregations expressed that sharing this information with the community was the goal and that people appreciated the services: “I am… thrilled to see so many people that I don’t know, so many people that are not from our Church… integrating [and] asking questions. And, I guess this is what we really should be doing, this is what we are about. So in my estimation, this is a joy to see.
Organizers of the event agreed that for Adventists, being in church, singing hymns and listening to the message is only part of [spiritual] growth. Jesus called His people to go out and mingle with the community, to ascertain needs, meet those needs and then ask individuals to follow Christ. The Health Expo was an opportunity to get it right!