The Covered Dish - Duke Divinity School

Summon in the Spirit

kjm20@duke.edu — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 20:23:45 +0000

There’s strong evidence that St. Mary’s of Bethlehem, an ancient hospital in London noted for its care of the mentally ill, is the source for the word bedlam, meaning chaos and cacophony. The account has it that the word Bethlehem underwent the process of contraction common in English until it became cockneyfied into bedlam. The name for the town where Jesus was born gradually decayed into a word synonymous with the cries of the mentally ill.

"High-Touch" Health Reform

jbjames@duke.edu — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 13:15:43 +0000

Here is some local news with potential for a ripple effect across the U.S.:

North Carolina will become a healthcare reform test bed through a new public-private partnership that aims to see if a Medicaid management program that has saved more than $1 billion can also bring savings and efficiencies when applied to the private sector.

First Community Bank of Self-Esteem and Improved Health

jbjames@duke.edu — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 15:31:21 +0000

New term for the day: time banks. Time banks are volunteer networks, typically established by non-profit groups. They are becoming increasingly popular for health-care organizations but hold interesting potential for churches as well. The term is fairly self-explanatory: Members of a time bank make deposits in the form of volunteer hours, and can make withdrawals when they need help from other community members. Help can take many forms: household repairs, assistance in

Mississippi Pastor Leading the Way Toward Community Health

jbjames@duke.edu — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 18:13:33 +0000

Michael Minor, a Baptist pastor in Mississippi, has banished fried chicken from fellowship events at his church. He urges other churches and pastors to do the same.

This story "has legs," as they say, appearing in more numerous and increasingly prominent places, finally making the New York Times last week.

Broadband Growing, Options Opening

kjm20@duke.edu — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 21:05:17 +0000

Via N.C. Public Radio, we learn of a renewed initiative by the Microelectronics Center of North Carolina (MCNC) to increase broadband data access to rural areas of our state.

The Local Church as Immune System

jbjames@duke.edu — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 15:47:43 +0000

A 10-month-old with a compromised immune system recently contracted a life-threatening infection. Doctors saved the boy's life by administering immunoglobulin, a concentrated dose of antibodies derived from the plasma from more than 1,000 blood donors.

Food Consumer News: Let's Go Small

jbjames@duke.edu — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 13:16:36 +0000

There are signs that food retailers are finally reversing the trend in serving sizes, and responding to the rising number of consumers looking for meals that are tasty and just-big-enough.

Starbucks has experimented for several months now with "petite" desserts, tiny portions of sweet stuff priced at $1.50 apiece (cheap for Starbucks!). The top seller is the Birthday Cake Pop, "a couple of bites of rounded, icing-covered cake on a stick."

Regular Meals

jbjames@duke.edu — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 18:33:41 +0000

"If anyone knows about regularity, it's monks." That's a quote from Phil Fox Rose (at Busted Halo), and I detected a double-entendre that he probably didn't intend. Rose recently went on a monastic retreat, and among his epiphanies from that experience, he was struck by the value of having set daily meal times and limited menu choices. (At his retreat, breakfast each morning was 1 hard-boiled egg, 2 slices of toast with orange marmalade. Take it or leave it.)

Church Systems Task Force Report on Clergy Health

jbjames@duke.edu — Mon, 13 Jun 2011 17:45:32 +0000

A few days ago, the United Methodist News Service published a story about clergy health. The story is tied to a task force report that the UMC’s General Board of Pension and Health Benefits (GBPHB) and the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry (GBHEM) released in May. To address the challenges pastors face to their health and wellness, the

A votre santé! (To your health!)

jbjames@duke.edu — Mon, 06 Jun 2011 18:13:48 +0000

Could our diet be a symptom, rather than a cause, of our unhealthy and unbalanced lives?

For many years, citizens of countries such as Greece, Italy, and Yugoslavia enjoyed excellent health relative to the rest of the world. Public health researchers credited the "Mediterranean Diet," an assemblage of foods that features fruits, vegetables, fish and poultry, whole grains, and olive oil (and includes little red meat or processed food).