Parish Nurses Attend ELCA Domestic Violence Prevention Conference

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.]

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