PHILADELPHIA, PA (March 12, 2005) - Some 70 pastors, deaconesses, nurses (including Parish Nurses) and physicians gathered at The Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia (LTSP) today to network about three critical topic areas.

Ann Farley teaches the "Therapuetic Touch" method.

They met in groups to consider: What are the best information sources for health care questions and concerns? What can you trust on the Internet? How do congregations ethically disburse information about parishioners who are ill or in the hospital? How does the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), regarding a patient's right to privacy, impact congregations? Or does it?

Secondly, how do churches make sure they are using "healthy language" in terms of their theological discussions and worship practices, including use of prayer?

And finally: What about "complementary therapies" such as therapeutic touch and Reiki? How can they be truthfully evaluated and how do they fit into overall health care, including "traditional" treatment approaches. And what is the right way to incorporate such approaches?

Everyone taking part in the day participated in a workshop led by experts who guided participants through discussions in each of the areas.

The sessions on consumer information were led by Kay Bensing, MA, RN, a member of the Health Ministry Task Force at St. Luke, Devon, PA, and a journalist for Merion Publications; Pauline Sherry, MSN, BSN, RN, a parish nurse at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Southampton, PA; and Renee H. Martin, an attorney who regularly represents physicians, hospitals and rehabilitation providers in a variety of areas, including privacy and confidentiality issues.

Addressing a session on confidentiality, Martin said there is a real tension between the ethics of protecting one's privacy and what churches have traditionally done in publicizing information about the health status of parishioners. She explained she has not become aware of any lawsuits filed against parish nurses for disclosing a patient's health status in a congregation, adding that the HIPAA law only covers entities that "receive Medicare and Medicaid and bill electronically." Still, she said, the potential for some forms of litigation involving privacy could be "out there." So even though the "letter" of the HIPAA law doesn't apply to congregations and parish nurses, they need to be vitally concerned about the "ethics" of disclosing personal health information. "The best thing to do is to ask an individual to whom can I disclose information and what information can I disclose." She also advises churches to think through carefully what information is really necessary to provide in instances where prayers are requested for someone, for example, even if a pastor or nurse technically "has permission." She said a "permission form" is not required for a congregation, but that the matter should always be taken up with an individual by a parish nurse when "intake information" is collected. "The important thing is always to get permission before you furnish information to church members about someone," she emphasized.

The session on complementary therapies was guided by Sister Rose Scalone, RSM, BSN, CNM, MPH, EdD, a homeopathic consultant and education coordinator for the School of Integrative Body Mind Therapy, a program of the Medical Mission Sisters, Philadelphia, PA; and Ann Farley, MSN, RN, of the Health Ministry Task Force, St. Paul Lutheran Church in Philadelphia's Olney section.

Sister Rose presented a context for the notion of complementary therapies, noting that such disciplines as meditation, massage, Tai Chi, Therapeutic Touch, and yoga are being used increasingly as healing arts options. They are "complementary" when used in addition to "conventional" medicine and "alternative" when used in place of "conventional" medicine. The group received information on 20 biblical passages that exemplified Jesus as a healing person, and the group pondered the matter of how Jesus healed and raised the question of how individuals like those at the conference may be called forth to heal as well. Questions considered included how best to blend these disciplines with traditional approaches. "How do we accept complementary therapies as people of faith?" Sister Rose asked. "There are varying thoughts on how they are perceived and how practical they are. But the reality is that they cannot be ignored." The session took note of how such therapies are supported in scripture, described how therapies might be useful in the healing process and discussed how complementary therapies can be incorporated into congregational ministry. Ann Farley demonstrated the application of Therapeutic Touch. (Actual physical touch is infrequent in carrying out the approach.) During the session considerable discussion evolved about the role of touch in an age when health professionals use gloves during treatment and when great sensitivity surrounds boundaries of behavior in churches and elsewhere. Some in the group raised concerns that touching seems limited to the passing of the peace in congregations and expressed that a comforting touch of an older person who is ill continues to hold value for a person who is frequently isolated from a healing touch. The sessions considered a wide range of alternative therapies from a variety of cultures.

The sessions on Healthy Language in the Church were conducted by the Rev. George Keck, director of Theological Education for the Laity at the seminary, and the Rev. Jared Rardin, a pastoral counselor and consultant for the Samaritan Counseling Center.

In the workshops, Pastor Rardin described the use of "bad theology" that arises in many church-based conversations. "People ask what did I do to deserve this, or what did she do to deserve that." The assumption is that sickness is a punishment for sin, he said. "The moment you stop blaming God, you start being healed," Rardin noted, even though healing does not always mean being "cured." In another example, Rardin noted that many in the church have a denial of death. Death, he said is viewed as "failure" rather than being a "natural outcome." Hence people strive to have death "fixed" somehow, if they can. "Do we die because we are sinners or because we are human," he asked. "Does our denial of death miss the Good News of the Resurrection?"

Rardin and Keck both noted a tendency for people in churches to fixate on health ministry to physically ill people than to persons "broken" in other ways, such as suffering from broken relationships, addiction, and issues of race, family difficulties, and problems in marriage and with children or at work. "Can our worship and healing rites also include all the ways our lives are broken?" they asked. The session offered a variety of actions and resources for participants to consider. One suggestion for congregations to consider is offering support groups and a "safe place" in church to talk about mental and emotional problems. "We need to make these concerns easier to talk about than they are now," Rardin said. Participants in one of the sessions discussed how churches had been successful in creating safe discussion places on such subjects as alcoholism, depression, weight loss, lifestyle changes and sex change.

Rardin suggested to one group that the participants help people "learn how to find God in the present" rather than trying to fix blame for what has happened in the past. "It's better to ask what is God doing with us now through this illness than to focus in the past," he said.

In another part of the discussion, Keck raised the idea of the extent to which congregations in worship use all the human senses. "Do our worship services focus mostly on our seeing and hearing senses? How can we involve smelling, tasting and touching more in our worship? How does weekly communion fit into this issue?" He suggested critiquing worship practices from church to church and raising the issues with a congregation's Worship and Music team.

Each session provided participants with lists of resources and actions to take home with them for congregational use.

Health Consultant Marilyn Harris, a specialist in home health care issues, led the group in a closing plenary discussing a variety of action ideas gleaned from recorder reports.

The event was co-sponsored by the Health Ministry Task Force of the Southeastern Pennsylvania Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and by the seminary.