Wed and Thurs lunch mtgs + other announcements

Dear Public Health Christian Fellowship,

In the last Psalm of Asaph, he cries out: O God, do not remain silent; do not turn a deaf ear, do not stand aloof, O God. (Ps 83:1). Dear ones, in the midst of personal busy-ness (so common at this time of year, balancing interpersonal expectations with school/work deliverables) and in a broken world, our hearts cry out for God to make himself known. Will you take hope today that he has heard the prayers of his people, and that he has sent his very son Jesus - our Emmanuel, our God with us? Praying that God grows your faith and your longing for him, and gives you strength enough for what he has given you to do today and bright hope for tomorrow. Here's a song to rest and meditate on. (Today's note is adapted from The Common Rule, Advent Edition)

This week's events in the SPH:

• Wednesday 12noon, Room W2033. Room open for people to fellowship and pray; no structured meeting. There will be dessert :)
• Thursday 12noon John Bible study, Room W9514. See point 3 below.

PHCF whatsapp group: we've created a whatsapp group for easier communication/support/sharing/prayer during the week outside of our meetings. 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. Ethnos Baltimore Conference - March 23, 2019
6. CCIH Conference 2019 - June 6-8, 2019  

1. Praises and 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. JHSPH 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

Week of, Schedule: (2nd term, meetings will be Thursdays at noon)
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. Ethnos Baltimore Conference - March 23, 2019

Local churches in Baltimore are joining together to host the fourth annual Ethnos conference - March 23, 9am-4pm, at Central Presbyterian Church (7308 York Rd, Towson, MD). This year's theme is Justice as Mission: At its heart, the Ethnos Conference has always been about the mission of God. As God’s people follow Jesus into the world, how does the pursuit, proclamation, and expression of justice equip and empower the Church to represent God to a broken world? Read more details and register here.

6. 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.