Since 1996, Missouri School of Religion has offered an annual Parish/Faith Community Nurse Basic Preparation course to equip RN's to serve their church/orgainization or communiy.  Faith Community or Parish Nursing is a community-based ministry, uniquely joined with a faith community and its belief system to promote health and prevent disease by tending to the whole person through a wholistic approach, which means meeting the physical, emotional and spiritual needs of the congregation and community’s members.

 Services Provided by the Faith Community Nurse or Parish Nurse:

• Helping parishioners to integrate faith and health.
• Providing instruction, consultation and counsel to individual parishioners and families regarding health lifestyles and health care.
• Consultation and counseling regarding health matters with individual church/community members and families.
• Helping individuals identify and contact community health resources and social service agencies.
• Assessments and/or screenings to help detect early symptoms of diseases.
• Health education in individual seminar, lecture and/or workshop format.
• Organizing and assisting support groups, as may be appropriate.