Church administrators from across the diocese met at Christ Church Cathedral in Louisville on Tuesday, April 22, for lunch and a program on wellness just for them. Hosted by the diocesan staff, the annual event is the diocese's way to say thank you to those who work in our congregations.

The first presenter, the Rev. Dr. Bill Watson, rector of Grace Church, Hopkinsville, is also a physician who volunteers at his community free clinic.  Watson began by clarifying the terms, health, well-being and wellness. Viewing health as the absence of disease is not "the best way" of looking at health. Disease, he said, is being at "dis-ease" with some aspect of our body and the way it is working.

Well being, he said, is a holistic term, reflecting "an attitudinal state" involving "the whole individual, the person's overall positive frame and outlook for life and work and prospects. He cautioned, however, that it often is used as referring to something that will be achieved in an "idealistic future," carrying the implication that "if we work really hard, we'll be healthy." Well being, he said, "is not a goal we achieve at some future point... The life that we have is the life that all of us have at this moment right now....  I think wellness is a state of living, and it draws upon certain patterns of behavior that maximize our health and well being, what we call a healthy lifestyle."

Joking that "it's just so hard to choose your parents," Watson said that our health is influenced by our genetics and our relationships as well as our nutrition, risky behaviors and addictions. The work we do, our work environment and even the periodic health exams and testing we undergo all influence our health.

Watson, not a fan of diets, said, suggested relearning patterns of healthy behavior by making small changes that we can learn to live with and will keep doing.  Read labels and avoid foods that are high in fructose, a sweetener that our body metabolizes into fat, he said. Avoid setting yourself up for failure by not shopping when you are hungry or on the day you are paid. Prepare your lunch so that you are not tempted to grab the wrong foods on the run.  

Urging his audience to not be "deadly serious," Watson said that humor can aid efforts to develop healthy practices.  Finally, he suggested, "Be kind to yourself.... wholeness is not the same as perfection."

Dr. Alan Oliver, the second speaker, is a Louisville psychologist who began by building upon Watson's observation that physical, emotional and spiritual health are all integrated.  "Our health is really a balance, and any one part that goes out of whack can affect the others," he said.  Diabetes, for example, he said can cause depression, which in turn can affect one's spiritual life.

He identified various sources of support during difficult, stressful times. A former Baptist, he said, scripture is a significant source of support for him.

Another, under-used source is being mindful of the Lord's presence in our day to day lives, he said. "One of the things Quakers emphasize is the power and presence of the spirit of the Lord. When I sit down with a client, to work with a client who is depressed, suicidal , whose marriage is falling apart... whatever the issues are, I don't there sit alone with that client. I sit there with that client in the power and the presence of the Lord.... We live our lives in the world, without a really clear, physical, conscious awareness of the power of Christ and the spirit in this moment in this placed doing the things God wills."
 
Most of his time, however, was spent in interacting with the group to solicit their thoughts and experiences. Recognizing that "all of you are often under pressure, often in a milieu that requires you to carry a big part of the load, unnoticed and unmarked," Oliver told them that they were one of their best sources of support. "Look around you at the faces in the room. This is one of the greatest resources you have for your own wellness, the people sitting around you. They understand these 12 hour days, the fussy parishioner.... You are a resource for one another."

Oliver concluded his presentation with a period of silence and sharing as practiced by the Quakers, his adopted faith community. During that time, all present quietly listened for the "still small voice" of the Spirit and, if they felt moved, shared their thoughts and prayers with the whole group.  Some shared; some listened; and at least during those moments all were part of a community of shared interests and experiences.

Click here for photos