2011 is LET's MOVE Sunday

“LET’S MOVE” SUNDAY - PROCLAMATION:
Whereas, good health is a part of God’s intention for all people, health involves the whole person – body, mind, and spirit, healing and health care are valid ways of proclaiming the Gospel and ministering in the name of Jesus Christ; we proclaim UCC Health and Human Sunday, January 30, 2011 as“LET’S MOVE!” SUNDAY On this Sunday, UCC congregations are encouraged to celebrate the Vision Beautiful by focusing on the physical care of our bodies and being healthy and whole. 

ACTIONS

INVITE your Faith Community Nurse, health ministry leaders or someone from the health community to conduct short sessions on:

• Healthy Choices – helping parents and children make healthier decisions about the foods they serve and eat. Host cooking classes
• Healthier Schools – partner with a school to conduct tutoring and fitness activities afterschool
• Physical Activity – commit your youth group to enter the President’s Physical Fitness Challenge - http://www.presidentschallenge.org/ 
• Accessible and Affordable Foods – sponsor farmer’s market in church parking lot; start a community garden. 

Instant Recess! What is Instant Recess?

• Instant Recess is a 10-minute break, like a coffee break but healthier!
• Instant Recess is the calling card for the new National Physical Activity Plan working with the First Lady. 
• The plan aims to change our national culture to make exercise part of everyone’s lives.
• The strategies include encouraging programs at workplaces, schools and churches, making physical activity a “vital sign” that doctors discuss with patients, and integrating activity into transportation plans by prioritizing sidewalks, bike lanes and trails
• On this Sunday commit to Engage your congregation in 10 minutes of movement.  This can be done in Sunday School or be incorporated into the worship service during meet ‘n’ greet time!

Resources for 2011

• Theme Overview
• Litany
• Sermon starter, "For Righteousness Sake" by Wade Schemmel
• Faithful Healing by Gordon Grozdanoff
• Diet and Body Image
• Ideas to get your congregation moving
• "Let’s Move" Sunday
       Instant Recess
• "Let's Move" PowerPoint
• "Let's Move" toolkit for faith-based organizations
• UCC National Office Workplace Wellness – WOW Program 
• Council on Health and Human Services: Focus on Healthier Eating
• Living with Integrity: Pilgrim Place, a UCC-related retirement community in Claremont, CA, has a unique relationship with Morrison Dining Services, which has been featured in the Morrison organization's national publication.  

Healing Through Song
Now thank we all our God,
With hearts, and hands, and voices
Who wondrous things hath done,
In whom His world rejoices.

This familiar Thanksgiving hymn becomes especially moving when you know the story behind it, says the Rev. Dr. Deborah L. Patterson. “It was written in Germany in 1647, during the Thirty Years’ War. Martin Rinkart was a minister who buried 50 to 60 people a day, including his wife, and he wrote the words for his children to say,” Patterson says. “When you think of them saying ‘Who from our mother’s arms, Hath blessed us on our way’ — that’s powerful.”

The executive director of CHHSM member International Parish Nurse Resource Center (IPNRC), Patterson believes that songs and the stories behind them can have a profound and positive effect on both body and spirit. That conviction inspired her to spend 20 years collecting and writing hymns that address healing in all its forms. The center published her book “Balm in Gilead: Hymns of Healing and Wholeness” in September. Read more...