No mtgs this week, Scholarship opportunity, Faith/health/medicine certificate

Dear Public Health Christian Fellowship,

Paul writes, But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself. Therefore, my brothers and sisters, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm thus in the Lord, my beloved. In the Scriptures we see many exhortations to stand firm in the Lord, to walk in step with the Spirit, to fear not, to trust, to run the race. But, dear ones, do you see how all these actions are our response to the transforming work of Christ in us, who has claimed us as his people and is making us more like him each day? Praying this morning that you hold tight to Jesus and that you remember that you are his beloved and that he has given you people around the world who you can call your brothers and sisters. (And praying for those of you taking the biostats exam this morning, and for those traveling this week!)

No official PHCF meetings this week - happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

New PHCF whatsapp group: we've heard some interest in a whatsapp group for easier communication/support/sharing/prayer during the week outside of our meetings / beyond emails. Please email jhsph.phcf@gmail.com with your name and phone number if you're interested in joining.

If you have prayers, reflections, songs, or announcements you'd like to share with the rest of PHCF (or individual questions/comments for the PHCF leaders), please email jhsph.phcf@gmail.com!

Grace and peace,

Teresa - for PHCF
Helpful links: PHCF website | map/list of local churches

Other announcements:

1. Praises and prayers
2. Job and scholarship opportunities
3. John Study - Schedule for the rest of the year and Biblical Theology Study Questions
4. Faith, Health, and Medicine Certificate - 2019 Course series at St Mary's Ecumenical Institute  
5. CCIH Conference 2019 - June 6-8, 2019  

1. Praises and prayers:

• Praise God for a wonderful Thanksgiving Celebration hosted by the Graduate Christian Fellowship / International Fellowship and PHCF this past Saturday! Thank you for your prayers :) 
• Pray for the persecuted church around the world. Pray for those enduring through natural disaster and famine. Pray for the leaders of the nations around the world, and of our state and city.
• Pray for Christian Faculty at the SPH as we start gathering for sharing and prayer on the last Tuesday of the month - contact Teresa for more details if interested in joining!
• Pray for new students as they settle down in Baltimore, start classes, and find spiritual community at the SPH and in local churches.
• Pray for our PHCF brothers and sisters who are currently afar for work/practicum/missions/dissertation research, for favor in their work and traveling mercies.
• Pray for our PHCF brothers and sisters who recently graduated (or are graduating soon), finishing their capstones/theses/dissertations, and/or who are seeking God's direction/calling for jobs and career. May we trust in God's plans more than our own, for his ways are higher than our ways and his thoughts than our thoughts (Is 55:9)
• Pray for the leaders (and leaders-in-training, and advisors, and members) of the various ministries around Hopkins - for unity, wisdom, and a big vision for God's work on campus this academic year.

2. Job and scholarship opportunities

• For alumni - an epidemiology faculty position has opened at Wheaton College! Link Here for more information.
• Essay contest on the intersection of spirituality and public health, with cash prizes - due Jan 6, 2019. Details here and here. SPH students have won prizes in 2016 and 2017 :)

3. John Bible study

For the past few months, a few of us have been gathering together to discuss the Gospel of John. I've put together a tentative schedule for what chapters and verses we'll be covering throughout the rest of the year. Please note the dates are indicative of the week we'll be meeting, not the specific day (which may change term-to-term). Also here is a document of biblical theology study questions that we'll be using to guide our discussion. Biblical theology is exactly what it sounds like - a way of studying the bible that focuses on understanding each passage, chapter, or book within the context of the overarching Biblical narrative.

Feel free to email me at traviswmroberts@gmail.com, or 202-468-4361 if you have any questions!

Best,
Travis Roberts

Schedule: (2nd term, meetings will be Thursdays at noon)
11/26: The Son of Man: John 8:12-59
12/3: The Kindness of Christ: John 9:1-10:21
12/10: The Festival of Dedication: John 10:22-42
1/28: The Death of Lazarus: John 11:1-12:11
2/4: The King of Israel: John 12:12-50
2/11: The Way of Christ: John 13:1-14:31
2/18: The Hope of Christ: John 15:1-16:33
2/25: The Prayer of Christ: John 17:1-26
3/4: The Betrayals of Christ: John 18:1-19:19
3/25: The Death of Christ: John 19:20-42
4/1: The Resurrection of Christ: John 20:1-29
4/8: The Gospel of John: John 20:30-31

4. Faith, Health, and Medicine Certificate - 2019 Course series at St Mary's Ecumenical Institute
CONNECT is a 12-credit graduate theological certificate program for doctors, nurses, and other medical professionals; chaplains, pastors, and other ministers; and everyone concerned with the challenges of integrating faith and health. The CONNECT certificate program is cohort-based, with all enrolled students beginning together in January 2019. The certificate is organized as five sequential modules plus a practicum that together build understanding and competency (module descriptions can be found HERE). For more information, contact Patty Rath (410.864.4203).

5. CCIH Conference 2019 - June 6-8, 2019

The CCIH 2019 Conference will be held June 6-8 at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland. Our theme is Called to Care: A Strong Community for Lasting Health. At our core, faith communities are called to care for themselves and those in need. Paul’s letter in Philippians 2:3-4 urges us to “do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.”

We will explore questions such as:

• How do we build capacity of local caring communities and organizations?
• How can faith-based organizations incorporate human-centered design? (Program design that considers the human perspective in all steps of development and problem solving.)
• Are faith-based programs themselves resilient and innovative?
• Are we working with other faith-based organizations, churches, government agencies, NGOs, and others to ensure our communities are self-sufficient?
• How are faith-based organizations integrating faith and work in the field?

Please read the full instructions below before beginning the submission process. Abstracts are due by December 22, 2018. Submission guidelines here. Submission site here.