wfn.org | Parish Nurses Attend ELCA Domestic Violence Prevention Conference

[News News <NEWS@ELCA.ORG>]

ELCA NEWS SERVICE

May 24, 2000

PARISH NURSES ATTEND ELCA DOMESTIC VIOLENCE PREVENTION CONFERENCE
00-143-WW*

     SAN ANTONIO (ELCA)  -- More than 50 parish and registered nurses
from throughout the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and
the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada (ELCIC) attended "Whole
Bodies, Whole Selves: Domestic Violence and the Parish Nurse," May 5-7,
at St. John's Lutheran Church here.
     The conference focused on parish nursing and how to identify,
counsel and help victims of domestic violence. Parish nurses are
qualified health care professionals who offer health care advice and
services to members of their congregations.  Many are volunteers.
     The ELCA Commission for Women was a primary sponsor of the
conference, working in conjunction with the ELCA Division for Church in
Society, ELCA Division for Congregational Ministries and Women of the
ELCA, the church's women's organization.  Each addresses domestic
violence through education, training and prevention.
     The Commission for Women promotes justice and full participation
of women in the church and society.  It also seeks to create a safe
environment for women in the church and society.
     "I have great hope for our church," said the Rev. Ann Helmke, a
keynote speaker, San Antonio staff for the ELCA Division for Ministry
and founder of the San Antonio Peace Center. "Addressing domestic
violence is somewhat on the edge of our ministry and new.  To see this
many people come from all across the country and Canada gives me great
hope."
     The conference opened with brief presentations and overviews by
Joanne Chadwick, executive director, and Jean Martensen, director for
leadership development and studies, both with the ELCA Commission for
Women; Josselyn N. Bennett, director for education and program
resources, ELCA Division for Church in Society; and Joan Pope, director
for anti-racism, Women of the ELCA.  All are from Chicago.
     Pope's presentation included showing "Broken Vows," a video on
domestic violence.
     In her keynote presentation, "Theology, Domestic Violence and the
Parish Nurse," Helmke focused on domestic violence throughout the
history of the American culture and the past few centuries in the
church.
     "History is important in teaching us how we have become such a
violent society," Helmke said. "Part of the struggle [with our history]
is that many of us are not aware of that history, and we live in some
denial of it."
     "We must look at our collective history and our own personal
histories to see how they affect future generations," she added.
"Violence is a learned behavior.  It is not genetic."
     Helmke showed a portion of a documentary, "Violence in American
Tradition," which outlined domestic abuse throughout American history
and what can be done to prevent it.  Helmke cited several facts about
domestic violence in the United States:
     +Women are twice as likely to be assaulted by husbands/partners
than by strangers;  +One in five homicides occur in families;
     +Every 12 seconds another woman is battered by a man she lives
with; and
     +Four million women experience a violent occurrence by an intimate
partner each year.
     Parish nurses can address domestic violence in many ways, Helmke
told conference participants. It's important to emulate Jesus when
helping victims of domestic violence by listening, showing love,
ministering to family and friends and affirming the victim, she said.
Helmke also stressed the importance of courage when dealing with cases
of domestic violence.
     Evelyn Forbes, parish nurse at Mt. Zion Lutheran Church, Edmonton,
Alberta, Canada, discussed elder abuse.   She is also the newly elected
president of the Lutheran Health Care Association in Canada.
     "Our missions [in the ELCA and the ELCIC] are the same," Forbes
said. "We were told to go out and teach, preach and heal.  This is a
healing mission for parish nurses."
     "Abuse has the same dynamics," Forbes said. "It doesn't matter
what age group."
      Other conference sessions included "Reading the Signs: Knowing
the Next Steps," a presentation by Dr. Jean Deliganis, University of the
Incarnate Word, San Antonio.  Deliganis addressed the signs of domestic
abuse and violence in cases involving children, elderly people and adult
women.
     Michael Gross, a San Antonio attorney discussed "Domestic Abuse:
The Victim, the Defendant and the Legal System." He talked about legal
proceedings involving domestic violence cases.
     Dr. Aubra Love, executive director, Black Church and Domestic
Violence Institute, Atlanta, spoke on the theme "Domestic Violence and
the Black Church."
     "Men's Roles in Ending Domestic Violence" was the subject of a
presentation by the Rev.  Brian Ogawa, chief, Crime Victim Services
Division, Office of the Attorney General, State of Texas.
     Workshops included domestic violence against children and teens,
and among women in rural areas.
     Lutheran Brotherhood Foundation provided a grant for the
conference.  A co-sponsor of the event was Methodist Healthcare
Ministries, Wesley Parish Program; planning assistance was provided by
the San Antonio Parish Nurse Board of Directors and St. John Lutheran
Church.
-----------------
     More information on related subjects can be found on ELCA's Web
site.  Information about the "Decade for a Culture of Nonviolence"
(2001-2010), which the ELCA supports, is at
www.elca.org/dcs/socialjustice.html.  Resources and names of
organizations that focus on peace education are at
www.elca.org/dcs/nonvresource.html.

[*Walter Alan Wiederhold is a student at Texas Lutheran University.  He
lives in Deer Park, Texas.]

For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or NEWS@ELCA.ORG
http://listserv.elca.org/archives/elcanews.html