Gastonia Parish Nurse Ministry
Caring for the Body, Mind and Spirit
The Gastonia Parish Nurse Ministry is a congregational program sponsored by First United Methodist Church and First Presbyterian Church, and made possible by the gracious support of the Duke Endowment. Parish nursing (also known as congregational nursing and/or faith community nursing), is a recognized specialty that focuses not only of the body and mind, but on the intentional care of the spirit. There are seven primary roles that the Parish Nurse assumes in this ministry: health educator, personal health counselor, referral agent, volunteer coordinator, developer of support groups, health advocate, and the intergrator of faith and health. Care is directed at health promotion and disease prevention; focusing on the "whole" person, not soley on the "part" of the body affected by a disease.