That individually and as a community we pledge ourselves to be aware of the needs of others. We must not hesitate to respond to suffering, deprivation, separation or the loss of human dignity.

The Parish Nurse ministry is designed to help meet those needs: emotional, spiritual, and physical. The Parish Nurse promotes a general improvement in health and wellness through screening programs, educational classes, distribution of health literature, and supportive services to those in need.
The Parish Nurse promotes holistic wellness by:
. Visitation of parishioners in their homes, hospital, and nursing homes
. Counsels parishioners on health related issues
. Serves as a resource person; referring to community resources
. Coordinating health education classes on a variety of topics
. Coordinates health screenings

Health Screenings
Blood Pressure screening is offered the third weekend of the month after every mass by members of the Parish Nurse Committee or you may call Lee Armstrong to be screened at other times.

Health Fair
Our first health fair last fall was a great success! Our next health fair is scheduled for October the 8th from 9:30 AM-12 Noon in the Great Room. We are hoping to offer the following screenings:
. Blood Pressure
. Height, Weight, BMI
. Blood Glucose level
. Glaucoma screening
. Simple Vision checks
. Hearing
. Home Safety information
And Much more!

If you would be able to assist with the monthly screening or with the health fair in October please call Lee Armstrong. We need many different volunteers; nurses, doctors, other health personnel, and non-medical volunteers to help check in or refreshments. We are in special need of bilingual volunteers!

Lunch and Learn
Lunch and Learn is held the second Tuesday of every month from September through May. This is a time to come together with other parishioners and friends for a pot-luck lunch at Monsignor Hickie Center followed by a health related presentation. Everyone is welcome!
September 13th topic is Medicare Changes.

If you would like more information or would be willing to speak please call Lee Armstrong.

Health Advisory Committee
The health advisory committee was started in the fall of 2004 to evaluate the health needs of the parish. This fall as we recognize that the parish and school have many of the same health issues, this committee will expand to include the school. This committee is made up of members from all ages and occupations, no medical background is necessary.
The Health Advisory committee meets at 7PM in the church conference room on the 3rd Tuesday of every month.
If you are interested in joining this vibrant committee please call Lee Armstrong

Bristol Faith in Action
Churches in Community Ministry
An Interfaith Resource and Referral Ministry
703 Chester Street, Bristol Virginia 24201
276-466-8292, Fax 276-466-9503

Mission: To provide a witness of Christian unity in service and a sign of God's love in and for our community; and to recognize and serve the needy of our community as Christ invites us to do.

Bristol Faith in Action was created for churches to pool their resources and fulfill a common purpose. St. Anne Catholic Church has joined with 28 other church communities to combine resources and coordinate services. BFIA serves residents of Bristol, Virginia and Tennessee, Blountville, and Bluff City. BFIA provides help not only with food, water, and shelter but also with agency referrals, education and job placement, and referrals for counseling.

For more information please contact BFIA

Virtus
Protecting God's Children
We are all created in God's image and likeness. There is a scared dignity that needs to be accorded to every individual regardless of age. One of the responsibilities of the adults in our communities is to provide an environment of love, respect, and care for all our children and youth.

The Virtus Protecting God's Children program is part of the Diocese of Richmond's Safe Environment program. This program outlines the process whereby each parish and the entire diocese have created and will maintain a safe environment for all our children.

Every employee of the Diocese of Richmond and all volunteers that work with children and youth must attend a Protecting God's Children awareness session. After the initial session there are monthly bulletins on the internet that are to be read. For those unable to obtain access to the internet there are copies of the monthly bulletins in the parish and school library.

To sign up for a Virtus session go to www.virtus.org

Please help us to protect our precious children from the horrors of sexual abuse and ensure our parish and school is a safe place for all!

Respect Life
Our mission statement calls for us to live out the teachings of the Catholic Church on the sanctity of life by supporting individuals and families who are in crisis over a present or past pregnancy, educating the community on the sanctity, and urging our government to pass legislation which respects
life from the moment of conception to natural death.

Current Efforts:
. Educate parish community about issues of life and death.
. Collect baby and maternity items for Abortion Alternatives and Crisis
. Pregnancy Center.
. Encourage participation in the one mile walk for support of Abortion
. Alternatives and Crisis Pregnancy Center.

How you can help:
. Your time, talent, and ideas to fulfill our mission; and expand our efforts to new areas.
. Assist with walk-a-ton and collection of items.

Justice and Peace
"What does the Lord require of you, but to do justice, to love kindness and walk humbly with your God." (Micah 6:8)

Our church mission statement expresses it as follows:
One of the great challenges for Christians is as old as our faith, how do we connect our Sunday worship with our everyday life? How do we carry the values of our faith into family life, our vocations, and our interactions in the public area? How do we love our neighbor, pursue peace and seek justice in everyday choices and commitments?

Catholics are called by God to protect human life, to promote human dignity, to defend the poor and to seek the common good. This social mission of the Church belongs to all of us. It is an essential part of what it is to be a believer. Catholicism does not call us to abandon the world, but to help shape it. This
does not mean leaving worldly tasks and responsibilities, but
transforming them. Catholics are everywhere in this society.

Working for justice in everyday life is not easy. There are complex and sometimes difficult challenges encountered by women and men as they try to live their faith in the world. We applaud the efforts of all Catholics to live the Gospel by pursuing justice and peace in their everyday choices and
commitments.

Our Justice and Peace committee works to educate our parish concerning our Catholic teaching on topics relevant to Justice and peace. And assist our community in developing outreach to those in need. Please Call Lee Armstrong to join more fully in this effort.

Love for others, and in the first place love for the poor, in whom the Church sees Christ himself, is made concrete in the promotion of justice.
Pope John Paul II, Centesimus Annus, 1991

Natural Family Planning
Natural Family Planning has been called one of the best kept secrets of the Catholic Church. NFP respects the importance of a woman's fertility, promotes communication between the married couple, and follows the church's teaching.

Intercourse expresses the union of husband and wife in the Sacrament of Matrimony. The use of contraception breaks down this union. Also, Pope John Paul II expressed it the couple try to control when human life begins "a power which belongs solely to God; the power to decide, in a final analysis, the coming into existence of a human person."

The introductory class meets for a two hour group session. The instructors then schedule two follow-up sessions over the next six months, meeting individually with participants to answer questions and review their charts. There are introductory classes in October and April, the Friday evening following Marriage Encounter weekend, also there is a class in the first week of August following NFP awareness week.

We are blessed to have a couple in our parish that are certified Couple-to-Couple League NFP instructors. Contact Lee Armstrong and we will put you in touch with this couple.