Serving the Great Physician

You won't see Barb Sprinkle on the popular TV show E.R.—you're more likely to find her at church. The tools of her trade are stethoscopes and Scripture, hypodermic needles and the sword of the Spirit. There aren't a lot of people with her job description—but then, Barb Sprinkle isn't your typical church staff person. Barb is a Registered Nurse who recently began serving part-time as a Congregational Nurse with Harvester Christian Church in St. Charles, Missouri.

What does a Congregational Nurse do? Hospital and home visitation. Health counseling and education. Facilitating support groups for people who want to lose weight or stop smoking. Praying with people. Serving as a patient advocate with health care providers and insurance companies. Leading Christ-centered childbirth classes for expectant parents, and assisting with child-rearing classes for new parents. Serving as a trusted resource person who can answer medical questions for the congregation. Reaching out to people who don't attend church.

"Having Barb work with us is one of the best things we've ever done," says Ben Merold, senior minister at Harvester Christian. "Her help has been a great relief to our staff, and good for the whole church."

It shouldn't surprise us when a church takes an active role in health care. Since biblical times, Christians have led the way in caring for the sick. Motivated by a Good Samaritan-like compassion for their neighbors, disciples like Luke ("the beloved physician") have cared for the needy, the poor, and the suffering (Colossians 4:14).

Several articles in the Journal of Christian Nursing (Winter, 1997) tell about today's growing field of what some call "parish nursing." Rita P. Wilson, RN, points out, "Traditional health care models concentrate on physical and psychological influences to the body but tend to neglect the spiritual realm. The parish nurse cares for clients as a whole: body, mind and spirit."

Today is Sanctity of Human Life Sunday, a time to highlight the biblical view that all people—from unborn babies to the oldest and weakest among us—are priceless persons created in God's image. Amid all the controversy over abortion, euthanasia, physician-assisted suicide, and the rising costs of health care, it's easy to lose sight of the many Christians who faithfully uphold the value of life and serve the Lord unselfishly every day in the unglamorous real world of bed-pans, endless paperwork, and malpractice suits.

Barb Sprinkle says, "I believe my work as a nurse is a calling from God. When I heard about congregational nursing, I knew this would be something I'd want to do."

Her position is funded through a partnership arrangement between her church and St. Joseph Health Center. Other churches may be able to make similar arrangements with hospitals in their areas, Barb suggests. "Christians need to look at congregational nursing as a ministry they could perform—either through the same kind of thing our church is doing, or by setting up a volunteer program."

What will you do to express support for life? Are there doctors, nurses, or other health care professionals in your church or community who need your prayers and a word of encouragement? Could you donate money or time to a local pregnancy center? Visit the residents in a nursing home? Become a foster parent? However we do it, we must pay more than mere lip-service to the sanctity of life. One way or another, we all hold precious lives in our hands.