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For Immediate Release
Contact: Teresa Lyles Holmes
914-282-5317
or 212-730-7381
The Balm In Gilead Launches Historical
Partnership with Three Black Church Denominations To Address Health Disparities
History
in the making: The Women’s Missionary Societies of three historical Black
Methodist denominations join in partnership with The Balm In Gilead to address
health disparities among Black women.
 Photo
Caption:
(Pictured l to r) Pernessa Seele, Founder/CEO, The Balm In Gilead;
Elnora Hamb, national president of the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church, Women's
Missionary Council; Barbara Shaw, national president of the African Methodist
Episcopal Zion Church, Women's Home and Overseas Missionary Society; Jamesina
Evans, national president of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, National
Women Missionary Society; and, Erline Belton, Board Chair, The Balm In Gilead.
New
York, NY - April 1, 2005 …In an unprecedented moment in Black history,
the national presidents of the women's missionary society of The African Methodist
Episcopal Church, the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church and Christian Methodist
Episcopal Church this week announced a partnership with The Balm In Gilead, a
not-for-profit organization with an international mission to stop the spread of
HIV/AIDS by building the capacity of faith communities to provide education, services
and support for people living with and affected by HIV/AIDS. This partnership
will build the capacity of these denominations to address cervical cancer, HIV/AIDS
and other health disparities among Black people.
This partnership is
also designed to build a sustainable health education and service delivery system
within African American faith communities that will reach the masses. "This partnership
serves as a historical marker in the Black community," said Pernessa Seele, Founder/CEO,
The Balm In Gilead. "It is the first time in history that three denominations
have banded together with a national technical assistance organization to address
health disparities on a comprehensive scale."
Mrs. Jamesina Evans, national
president of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, National Women Missionary
Society; Mrs. Barbara Shaw, national president of the African Methodist Episcopal
Zion Church, Women's Home and Overseas Missionary Society; and Dr. Elnora Hamb,
national president of the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church, Women's Missionary
Council stood tall with Pernessa Seele, Founder/CEO of the Balm In Gilead and
Board Chair, Erline Belton to launch this partnership at a press conference held
at the New York Academy of Sciences.
The Balm In Gilead has been working
with these national organizations over the past year to launch this partnership.
With on-going technical support and training from the Balm In Gilead, each national
president has appointed a national health director who has begun to build an infrastructure
to educate the approximately 7 million combined membership of these national church
denominations. Working together, this partnership will establish regional health
offices within each Episcopal district of the AME, AMEZ and CME churches that
will report to the national health office under the direction of the national
presidents of the women's missionary society. The Balm In Gilead will convene
a training program in late summer to begin the process of equipping these district
health coordinators on building the capacity of local churches to address cervical
cancer, HIV/AIDS and other health disparities among Black people.
Appointed
National Health Directors are: Dr. B. J. Cotton, the African Methodist Episcopal
Church, National Women Missionary Society; Mrs. Sandra Crowder, the African Methodist
Episcopal Zion Church, Women's Home and Overseas Missionary Society; and Mrs.
Rudine Phelps, Christian Methodist Episcopal Church, Women's Missionary Council.
Black Methodism in America is a direct result of slavery and the mistreatment
of Black people within White religious institutions during the 18th and 19th centuries.
The African Methodist Episcopal Church (AME) was founded in Philadelphia on April
12, 1787 as a result of discrimination against Black members of the St. George
Methodist Episcopal Church and in protest of slavery. The African Methodist Episcopal
Zion Church (AMEZ) was founded in October 1796 in New York City after Black members
were denied the sacraments and full participation in the John Street Methodist
Church. The establishment of the AMEZ church was in protest of the conditions
and treatment of Blacks living in New York City. The Christian Methodist Episcopal
Church (CME) was founded on December 15, 1870 in response to slavery and treatment
of Blacks in the South.
"The health of Black America is in a serious crisis,"
said Seele. "When we look at the statistics among HIV/AIDS among teenagers, obesity
among our children, cervical cancer among Black women, prostate cancer among Black
men-just to mention a few, we must begin to develop long-term, sustainable health
structures within institutions that Black folks trust and support," she added.
For additional information about The Balm In Gilead, log on to www.balmingilead.org
or call toll free in the United States 1-888-225-6243. ### ..............................................................................................................................................................................................
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