The Seven Plus One health ministries team of the Mt. Rubidoux church in Riverside reaches out to disadvantaged neighborhoods with outstanding health programs to revitalize people’s lives. (“Seven Plus One” stands for the seven laws of health, plus Divine power.)
As many as 500 people attend the annual health fairs, this year held Oct. 9 at the Stater Brothers’ parking lot in Rubidoux. A visitor can obtain an overview of current preventive health information in smart nutrition, immune system care, and bone density testing to mention only a few. Other information covers HIV/AIDS, at risk youth, developmentally disabled persons, veterans and the elderly. Each registrant is given a 31-page magazine presenting simple steps to health and happiness, including the importance of spiritual values.
“People who want to enhance their lives have an array of opportunities. We don’t pour information in and leave them on their own,” says John W. Rowe, health fair coordinator and Mt. Rubidoux Church member. “We assess their needs through interviews and surveys.” Visitors reap health advantages by enrolling in free follow-up classes.
For example, one group is training for the March 2006 L.A. Marathon. Run 4 Ur Life meets Sunday mornings at 7 a.m. in front of the Mt. Rubidoux church. They begin with prayer. “We have determined, happy people in this group,” comments Thomas Ray “TeeRay” Williams, leader and bilingual translator at health functions.
Other outreaches are health/fitness, cooking/nutrition, and smoking cessation classes at the Dee Smith Senior Center on Mission Boulevard in Rubidoux. A local market provides all the food for the classes without charge. Another program provides “vitamins for the elderly” and a new area, “vitamins for kids.”
The classes are funded by grants. “The Mt. Rubidoux, Riverside Kansas Avenue, Valley Fellowship, Riverside Juniper Avenue, and San Bernardino 16th Street churches, along with non-Adventist churches and organizations also contribute,” explains Rowe, RN, BSN, PHN, a member of the Mt. Rubidoux health ministries team who designs and manages these ministries. Other volunteer members are his wife, Donna Rowe, MSN, PHN, RN, coordinator; Teslyn Henry, RD, MPH; Trish Gonzalez, ND, LVN; and Monica McKenzie, MPH, RN. Another 20 nurses and eight doctors serve as volunteers.
How does the team interact with a community? “We first obtain demographics from the health department, contact those who provide grants and funding and determine areas of need. Then we become visible in the community by doing health assessments on parking lots, taking blood pressure and handing out health literature for specific concerns. Everything we do is free to the individual,” Rowe points out. “If we discover a concern out of control, we refer the person to a doctor or to hospital emergency. One lawyer was referred to the VA Hospital. He states he wouldn’t have lived otherwise.”
What about the spiritual? Are people led to know Christ through the health work? Rowe gives an emphatic, “Yes.” “In eight months we have had 20 baptisms,” he says. “We talk about stress and emotional health. On the survey of needs assessment, people can indicate their desire to know their Bibles better."
The Rudidoux health team’s work is designed for today’s poverty-stressed society. Their plan is to have programs duplicatable for other churches. For information, contact John or Donna Rowe at 951-276-8374.
