Iowa District East is made up of: 13 circuits, 119 congregations, 10 elementary schools, 38 preschools, two high schools, 99 pastors, 95 teachers, 7 DCEs and 21 parish nurses! I am the district parish nurse representative for the eastern half of Iowa. On a larger scale, the synod has 35 districts with about 950 parish nurses across the country. The “average” LCMS parish nurse is a 57 year old, married female, with a baccalaureate degree. She has served 6.5 years in her Mid-west parish.
I was privileged to attend the 15th Annual Concordia Conference for Parish Nurses and Congregational Health Ministries in Mequon, WI at the end of May and was able to meet many other parish nurses. The LCMS Health Ministry is well organized with Carol Broemmer RN, Manager of Health Ministries, LCMS World Relief and Human Care in St. Louis and Dr. Marcia Schnorr, National Coordinator, LCMS Parish Nursing in Rochelle, IL.
Twenty five of the 35 districts had representatives present at a gathering prior to this conference. In attendance at the District Representative meeting was a parish nurse from Bethlehem, Palestine, she is studying in the states for a month. We traveled to Finland via live teleconference, and had a report about work being done in Kenya with volunteer Mercy Medical Teams. There was time for district updates, networking and lots of learning! Our keynote speaker was Dr. Lou Jander from the Texas District; he spoke on Effective Team Ministry. I attended breakout sessions on Forgiveness & Healing, Health and Humor, Church Workers and Wellness, Community Ministries, Obesity Epidemic, Being an End of Life Advocate, and National Health Care & the Presidential Candidates.
As a District Rep I strive to promote, educate, and support health ministry and parish nursing in our district. Please contact me if I can be of assistance to you and your congregation! Ronda Anderson RN, Parish Nurse, Bethany Lutheran Church, Cedar Rapids. ronda.anderson@bethanycr.org 319-364-6026
