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THE INTERFAITH HEALTH PROGRAM
Who we are, what we believe, and why we exist

VISION
Imagine that:
we are participants and co-facilitators in building and sustaining a movement possessed by a shared dream of social justice, personal responsibility, and moral integrity; a movement directed toward whole-person, whole-community health and made operational by networks of transformative relationships within and across health and faith systems. Imagine faith and health groups celebrated by themselves and others for their capacity to make Shalom more than as builders of large congregations, facilities, and budgets.

Imagine congregations and health systems creatively and effectively flowing their resources into neighboring and more distant communities to advance health. Imagine community centers, other gathering places, and electronic networks where old and new partners gather to focus on minimizing disparities within communities and where proposed actions are welcomed, debated, refined, and embraced so as to make Shalom.

Imagine interdisciplinary programs (theology, health and human sciences, etc.) using innovative methods to prepare Shalom makers which are representative of the rich diversity in our populations. Imagine the vast resources and strengths of the religious/health community-at-large directed toward this vision.

Imagine all these assets and strengths aligned with the most relevant public health science and practice and the most mature faith.

This is our vision.

MISSION
In support of this vision, the Interfaith Health Program (IHP) builds and nurtures broad, rich, and deep networks for learning within and across health and faith systems--local, national, and global. As participants within these rich streams of knowledge and wisdom, we discover models, technologies, tools, and visions that strengthen the abilities of health and faith communities to make Shalom. We synthesize and share these discoveries and promote change through provocative writing, inspiring presentations, life-changing training, masterful facilitation, and landmark gatherings. We coach current and future leaders in the movement so that dynamic webs of influence form and spread. The IHP promotes vital learning at the intersecting boundaries where faith and health overlap, merge, and emerge transformed.

HISTORY
The Interfaith Health Program was launched in 1992 at The Carter Center following major national studies which identified the key role of faith groups in advancing health of individuals and communities especially through prevention and health promotion. Since its inception the IHP and its "boundary partners" have worked to build the capacity for collaboration among faith groups and with other community assets such as religious health systems and public health entities. In its first years IHP staff held meetings in more than 20 U.S. cities identifying opportunities and barriers to mobilizing faith groups into effective partnerships. The IHP has conducted hundreds of workshops and training events throughout the United States in collaboration with professional organizations, major religious denominations, and local initiatives.

In the Fall of 1999 the IHP moved into its permanent home at Emory University as a program of the Rollins School of Public Health and in close relationship to the schools of theology and nursing.

While much of the interest in this arena reflects a concern for problems of violence, teen pregnancy, elder issues, HIV, or cancer, the IHP strategy is always to build on the enduring strategic strengths and assets of faith structures.

The IHP has worked with colleagues in the Faith and Health Consortium to create interdisciplinary academic working groups developing curriculum, research, and service models. We see a vast body of learning, testing, and research needed by the burgeoning faith and health movement. The IHP also focuses on a small set of "Whole Community Collaboratives" where front line leaders are learning how to align the assets and strengths of faith and health at community scale. These initiatives link government, religious organizations, academic institutions, foundations and a wide variety of community partners. While our early years have focused within the United States, this opportunity is global and we expect our work to grow in that direction. Health is global in its challenges and opportunities for advancement.

IHP staff and colleagues speak and consult with professional and leadership events in the U.S. and around the world. We publish a newsletter, Faith and Health, and other papers and books. We maintain a lively email discussion group.

Our work has been supported by core grants from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The Templeton Foundation, The Kellogg Foundation, The Pew Charitable Trusts, The Cousins Foundation, The Episcopal Health Charities (Houston), and Baptist Community Ministries (of New Orleans) have supported program components. Some staff are supported by partners such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries.

STAFF

Gary R. Gunderson, M.Div., D.Min.
Director

Since 1992 Gary Gunderson has been Director of the Interfaith Health Program (IHP) of the Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University. Gunderson came to IHP with a background in communications and community development, and with many years of experience in issues of health, hunger, and poverty.

Gunderson is the author of Deeply Woven Roots (Fortress, 1997), exploring the strengths of religious congregations as agents in building healthy communities, and Playing to Our Strengths (Carter Center, 1997), examining the opportunities and challenges in the realignment of religious health assets such as hospitals and the new foundations. He has also published many articles and speeches. He is the program chair for the American Public Health Association caucus on Faith Community and Public Health, consultant to the United Methodist Bishop's Initiative on Children and Poverty, member of the Board of Directors of Heifer Project International and the Atlanta Committee for UNICEF, and co-chair of Oakhurst Baptist Building Fund.

Gunderson is an ordained American Baptist minister educated at Wake Forest University (history), Emory University (M.Div.) and Interdenominational Theological Center (D.Min.). Gunderson was the founder and editor of Seeds magazine, which won international recognition for excellence in coverage of hunger and international development. He led a private company, USAfrica, for five years, establishing joint venture projects and consulting with governments in Africa. He has served as Honorary Consul for the country of Burkina Faso, West Africa, since 1988.

Mimi Kiser, R.N., M.P.H., C.H.E.S.
Associate Director

Mimi Kiser has been with the Interfaith Health Program since 1993, after working as a community health nurse for seven years in a rural setting. As a health educator with the IHP, she develops collaborative relationships with the public health sector and coordinates program efforts to gather and disseminate models of faith and health practice. For a local initiative, Atlanta Interfaith Health, Ms. Kiser was responsible for coordinating program planning and evaluation using a participatory approach.

During the last five years, she has worked with Dr. David Hilton, facilitating Training for Transformation workshops in health ministry and public health settings. Most recently this has been done in partnership with Global Health Action, a private, non-profit organization in Atlanta that provides community health training and educational programs in the U.S. and internationally.

Her work at the IHP is now supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Kiser has focused on building the capacity of health groups to form collaborative relationships with the faith community, specifically through networks such as the American Public Health Association's Caucus on Public Health and the Faith Community, along with the Coalition for Healthier Cities and Communities' Faith Action Team.

Since June 1996, she has also been working for St. Joseph's Mercy Care Services' Congregational Health Ministry Program as Coordinator of Parish Health Ministry for St. Luke's Episcopal Church.

Robert Sprinkle, M.Th., D.Min.
Assistant Director of Programs

Robert Sprinkle has served as a grant writer and program design consultant for selected non-profit agencies, primarily faith-based, in Georgia and Florida, including Interfaith Health Program, Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University; Miami Beach Hispanic Community Center; Jobs Partnership of Florida; Catholic Charities Legal Services; and the Dominican American National Foundation CDC. Recently he served Direct Action Research and Training Center, an incubator and networker of grassroots, faith-based community organizations in six states; and Working Capital Florida, the state's largest microenterprise lending program.

Robert honed his grant writing skills during a four-year tenure in the early nineties as Director of Development of Christian Community Service Agency in Miami, an ecumenically sponsored, multiprogram social service agency.

He continues to pursue an abiding interest in organizational development consulting, initially nurtured by Creative Interchange Consultants/Florida Network, through Christian Community Development Association and consulting work with additional faith-based organizations.

Other experiences include church planting in the Atlanta area; pastoring churches in Mobile, AL and Chicago, IL; and stints of community organizing and urban mission work in St. Petersburg, FL and Atlanta, GA. Robert received both his D.Min. (1971) and M.Th. (1969) from University of Chicago Divinity School.

Deborah L. Jones
Director ARHAP Project

Debbie Jones serves as Program Director for the Global/African Religious Health Assets Program within the Interfaith Health Program. Debbie comes to this role as her “next life’s work,” having just completed a two-year appointment at Emory as Visiting Scholar in Faith-Health Leadership and a career of three decades with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta, working in a broad range of cross-cutting public health programs.

Her work internationally and with the new Emory-CDC National Center for Public Health and Faith Collaborations, fulfills a long-term dream to work and study at the intersection of faith and public health. She has been drawn to this field because she believes a new body of knowledge is emerging that will catalyze public health and faith leaders to join together to recognize and align their strengths and assets to address the most urgent health issues around the globe.

Glenis Archer
Administrative Assistant

Glenis Archer serves in a key support role for the Interfaith Health Program. Her position as administrative assistant entails responsibilities for staff travel, database management, financial processing, inquiries, and numerous other administrative and organizational tasks for a busy program.

 

 

 

 

 

IHP SERVICES

The staff of IHP performs the following services:

The Interfaith Health Program
Rollins School of Public Health
Emory University
1256 Briarcliff Road NE, Building A, Suite 107
Atlanta, GA 30306
404.727.5246
garcher@emory.edu

DIRECTIONS

The Interfaith Health Program is located in Building A (Suite 107) on the West Campus of Emory University. The street address is 1256 Briarcliff Road, NE, which is located south of North Decatur Road and north of Ponce de Leon Avenue. We are located about one mile west from the main Emory campus. MARTA bus route 45 (from North Avenue Station) and bus route 48 (from Lenox Station) both stop directly in front of our building.

More detailed driving directions from selected points are listed below.

Coming from the south on I-75/85:
Exit 75/85 at Freedom Parkway. Follow Freedom Parkway for about a mile and a half, then take a left on Moreland Avenue. Moreland will change to Briarcliff Road when it crosses Ponce de Leon. Continue on Briarcliff for about a mile and a quarter. 1256 Briarcliff will be on your left.

Coming from the north on I-85:
Exit I-85 at North Druid Hills Road. Go south on North Druid Hills for about half a mile, then make a right on Briarcliff Road. Follow Briarcliff for about 3 miles. 1256 Briarcliff will be on your right, shortly after you cross North Decatur Road.

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