This newsletter is geared towards those who have completed a Living Compass training, but is also intended for, and can be shared with all those interested in Living Compass. 
Living Compass Community Newsletter
March 2017
Wellness In Action

"Since completing my training in July 2016, I have utilized the tools and resources of Living Compass within my community to promote a better understanding of whole-person wellness.  So often the focus is on the outward appearance (ex. weight loss and cosmetic procedures), and yet people are hurting and have lost hope.   Living Compass allows a person to discover what it means to be well and how to develop a plan to wellness.  My main focus has been with women's groups.  As a single mom raising two sons, I truly understand the stress, fear, doubt, and self-hate that many women feel.  The Living Compass training has given me a new point-of-view and understanding that I can enjoy the journey without stress over when I will arrive at the destination.  I use my FAITH Steps every day.

Within my church, Brown Baptist M.B. Church, we have a very active community church.  I have shared the Living Compass materials with my leaders and volunteers in the Health & Women's Ministry.  However, I believe I have been called to share this message of wholeness outside my church's four walls.  As a Community Wellness Advocate, I interact with many people outside my church that are hungry for wellness and wholeness."

- CWA Katrina Kimble 
Brown Baptist M. B. Church of  Southaven, MS

Upcoming Congregational/Community Wellness
Advocate Trainings:
   
 
Chicago, IL April 20-22 (SOLD OUT)
Chicago, IL July 13-15, 2017
Chicago, IL September 21-23, 2017
Chicago, IL October 26-28, 2017

Learn how to use Living Compass and other ideas for wellness ministry to enhance your congregation's vitality and to connect with the community by beginning or expanding a wellness ministry. After a training retreat, you'll return to your congregations to complete your certification.

New: Parent and Teen Training and Think Tank
Chicago, IL June 29- July 1, 2017
 
Living Compass is hosting a special gathering of people who are particularly interested in teen, child and parent wellness this summer at the Nicholas Center in Chicago, and you are invited.  We will certainly look at materials (the new Parent Compass will be available by then) but will also brainstorm and dream of holistic ways we can better serve and support these often vulnerable parts of our communities.  
We are looking forward to this exciting gathering.   Please email Holly Hughes Stoner ([email protected]) for more information and Edith Lipscomb ([email protected]) to register. Scholarships are available. 


Register for a Congregational/Community Wellness Advocate Training
New Five Day Learning Opportunity
June 5-9, 2017
 
Class Taught by The Rev. Dr. D. Scott Stoner at Bexley Seabury:
Community Bases Wellness  Ministries : Reimagining Pastoral Care with Congregations and Their Surrounding Communities
 
Class can be taken by the public, and for academic credit or CEUs.

Additional Training Opportunities
Private group trainings can be arranged both at the Nicholas Center and at regional locations (for large  groups) on mutually agreeable dates.
For more information contact [email protected]
 

Making Connections
Look for Living Compass, or join us at these up coming events:
Good Shepherd Episcopal Church in Austin, TX April 1st
Diocese of Milwaukee Living Compass Event at Nashotah House Theological Seminary in Nashotah, WI April 8th
Visit our booth at Faith Forward in Chicago May 22nd-May 25th

Certification Celebration
Please help us to congratulate the following Congregational/Community Wellness Advocates who have completed their certification:
  • Beth Hughes Novian-St. Peter's Episcopal Church (Rome, GA)
  • Pam Phillips-All Saints Episcopal Church (Birmingham, Alabama)
  • The Rev. Charles M. Youngson- All Saints Episcopal Church (Birmingham, Alabama)
  • The Rev. John Carlisto- St. Paul's Episcopal Church (Beaufort, NC)
  • Janice M. Carlisto- St. Paul's Episcopal Church (Beaufort, NC)
  • Sarah P. Smith- St. Paul's Episcopal Church (Beaufort, NC)
  • Vicki Morris- St. Paul's Episcopal Church (Beaufort, NC)
  • Katrina Kimble- Brown Baptist M.B. Church (Southhaven, MS)
Many of you have already far surpassed the completion of what it takes to be certified and all you need to do now is fill out the form. 
 
I f you are interested in completing your CWA List of Activities for Certification found in your training binders or need a new form please contact [email protected] . 
 
We will be honored to send you your official certificate. Keep an eye out for future certified CWA promotions and events.
Recommended Resource
Spring and summer are nice times to give parents additional support so we are featuring our Christian parenting wellness reflection booklet,  I Will With God's Help.  This resource can be used much like the Living Compass Advent and Lenten resources, by individuals on their own or in a group setting. 

One person recently used this resource with parents in an online format using Zoom.  They held their group discussions in the evening after the kids were in bed and no one had to get a sitter, the parents loved the convenience. Pretty clever idea we thought. 
 
This 50 page booklet contains 28 short reflections, appropriate for parents with children of any age. It can be used by individual parents on their own, or it can be used as the basis of group discussions related to parent and family wellness. Groups who use this tool meet in homes, at schools, at coffee shops and at churches. Parents benefit from a community of support, and this guide can be used to form or deepen that community. 

When a group meets each parent needs their own guide. There is no leader guide for this resource.

The Teen Compass

Recently we tried something new with a group of parents and teens at a church that you might want to try. Once introductions and directions were given, parents and teens divided up into groups of about eight people (mix of parents and teens in each group) to name and discuss the ethical decisions that teens must make each day.  Parents and teens worked together to name topics in each area of wellness such as whether to cheat, participate in bullying, do drugs, or spread rumors through social media. It was an eye opening experience for the parents and a great way to get wellness conversations going between the generations. Then we handed out the following list of bible verses and had them assign each to an area of wellness.  We discussed as a group how the Bible does give us direction in terms of us how to act in these situations. 

We used the table compasses that you can print off the website for this hour and a half exercise.  


Living Compass Training  in La Porte, Texas
 

St. John's Episcopal Church in La Porte, Texas hosted a two day Community Wellness Advocate training March 18-19. They are moving full speed ahead with plans to open the St John's Living Compass Wellness Center. We were delighted have people from seven other neighboring churches join us for the training.


Closing Thoughts
Living Compass has recently both been on the road and at the Nicholas Center in Chicago meeting with all kinds of passionate and creative people. We continue to be inspired by the energy you all are bringing to the topic of wellness in all of your varied places and situations. It excites us and gives us renewed energy as we all work together to do this important work.  Thank you all for your dedication to a better world.