Emory Interfaith Health Program

The Interfaith Health Program remembers and honors US Congressional Representative and civil rights leader John Lewis. His leadership and courage were unwavering and we will carry them forward in the wake of his death. In 2013, Sandra Thurman, former director of the Interfaith Health Program, interviewed Congressman Lewis. That video was edited and shown as part of the Interfaith Service at the international AIDS Conference just last week. That video is below. Think you, Co...ngresswoman Lewis, for showing our nation a vision of justice, mercy, reconciliation, and accomplishment. Rest In Peace. https://vimeo.com/tomorrowpictu/review/435184376/bb7f8705e6

The Interfaith Health Program is eager to speak with Black gay men to understand their perspectives on religion and HIV to better inform faith-based HIV prevention and support initiatives in the Atlanta area and across the US. We will gather this information through an online workshop format and will provide each participant a $75 Visa gift card for their time, experience, and knowledge. Two more workshops will be held: on Saturday, July 27 and on Saturday, August 8 (participants choose one workshop). We are seeking a maximum of ten participants for each day. For more information, please visit: bit.ly/EmoryBGMATL

The Interfaith Health Program invites you to join in an interfaith service as part of the International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2020) on Tuesday, July 7 at 12:00 noon (Eastern Daylight Time). The service will be held at Grace Cathedral in San Francisco, CA and streamed live on the cathedral's website (https://gracecathedral.org) and Facebook page.

The Interfaith Health Program wants to understand how religion influences the experiences of Black gay men in Atlanta regarding HIV prevention and support programs. We are holding a series of online workshops on this topic and are seeking participants. Participants will receive $75 for their time in the workshops, which will run approximately six hours. The next workshop is THIS SATURDAY (June 27). For further information, please follow this link: http://bit.ly/EmoryBGMATL

In collaboration with the Morehouse School of Medicine, the Interfaith Health Program has created this platform of video interviews with Black religious, community, and public health leaders. The Interfaith Health Program expresses our gratitude to colleagues at the Morehouse School of Medicine; the Reverend Doctor Melissa Sexton, a Satcher Health Policy Fellow at the Satcher Health Leadership Institute at Morehouse, and the leaders whom she interviewed for this series. https://ihpemory.org/racial-justice/

The Interfaith Health Program is honored to have worked with our colleagues from the Candler School of Theology, especially Ed Phillips, in the creation of this comprehensive document. The document discusses various issues for local Christian communities to assess when considering decisions about resuming in-person events. The document was authored by representatives of the United Methodist Church, the Episcopal Church in America, and the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Amer...ica. Epidemiologists from the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University and other public health researchers provided input. The document doesn’t simply offer guidance; it also examines questions of the aesthetics of worship when rituals are adapted. Please note that the document specifically discusses Christian rituals but those from other traditions might find the discussion helpful. https://drive.google.com//1DhfgclYRUomeWApWtRGPr_tZJ/view

Reverend Ross recounts a story of a walk he recently took through his neighborhood. During that walk, a police SUV with tinted windows rolled up. I may die now. This is the thought that went through Reverend Ross’ mind in that moment. Nothing happened and Reverend Ross went on about his day. Only later did he stop and reflect on the reality that this fear is part of his life and the lives of black people. Every day there are certain people that I encounter. For them,... I’m not human. I’m a thing, an object, a monster, a beast. Reverend Ross also turns to the possibility of racial justice and reconciliation. As he does so, he frames this in a public health context. He reflects on insights he has gained in reading "The Leading Causes of Life," authored by Gary Gunderson, former director of the Interfaith Health Program. The challenge to racism happens in the connection and in the mutual recognition of shared humanity in that connection. White supremacy and racist structures do not have to exist. There is always hope. There is hope to and through your last breathand beyond it. https://ihpemory.org/what-it-means-to-breathe-an-interview/ This interview is part of a project to explore the religious dimensions of the COVID-19 outbreak. We are grateful for the collaboration of the Satcher Health Leadership Institute at the Morehouse School of Medicine, the World Council of Churches, and the Journal of Pastoral Care in this project. To see other video and written reflections, please visit: http://ihpemory.org/covid-19-resources-inter-disciplinary-/

In September 2019, the Interfaith Health Program worked with the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) and various implementing partners working on the UNAIDS/PEPFAR Faith-Based Initiative to publish "A Common Vision." This report details the essential efforts of faith-based organizations to provide adult and pediatric HIV treatment services, challenge HIV-related stigma (including stigma grounded in religious language), and sexual and gender-based violence. I...t also describes efforts to build capacity and support sustainable, locally-driven HIV efforts and demonstrate the important role that religious leaders and faith communities play in advocating for sound HIV programs and policies grounded in equity, human rights, and respect for all people. You can read the report here: https://ihpemory.org//A-Common-Vision-Report_FINAL_2019.pdf

An example of an inter-religious response that is grounded in care for one's neighbor. It references theological teachings and sacred texts while reflecting sound public health guidance. https://vimeo.com/417386522

Today’s news brought yet another story of a Black man dying in police custody as he proclaimed, I can’t breathe. COVID-19 is not the only organism constricting the breath of Black people; so is structural, systemic racism. In this interview, Rev. James Woodall, President of he Georgia chapter of the NAACP, reflects on the meaning of I can’t breathe in the COVID-19 pandemic. He begins by placing those words in the historical event of Eric Garner’s 2014 arrest in which he ...struggles to breathe as police officers hold him down. James situates this event and its importance for Black people and communities in the US in light of Biblical understandings of breath and their theological significance. Tying these concepts together, James discusses the ways in which social-structural systems constrict our breath and the breath of God. The Interfaith Health Program is gathering reflections and interviewing different religious and public health leaders about religion's influence on the COVID-19 response. You'll find over 25 of these reflections and interviews on our website with more being added regularly (http://ihpemory.org/covid-19-resources-inter-disciplinary-/) https://ihpemory.org/my-god-my-god-where-in-the-hell-are-y/

The Response of the Interfaith Health Program to the President's Call for Houses of Worship to Immediately Reopen Friday, May 22, 2020 Speaking at a news briefing held at the White House today, President Trump called houses of worship essential places that provide essential services and claimed that in America, we need more prayer, not less. The President implied that he would over-ride state and local orders calling for places of worship to remain closed. ...Continue reading