Mennonite Health Journal

The New Mennonite Health Journal!

Paul D. Leichty

Mennonite Health Journal, Vol. 18, No. 1  |PDF|

Welcome to the new online format for Mennonite Health Journal (MHJ)!  MHJ is changing to meet the needs of 21st century Anabaptists interested in healthcare. At the same time, MHJ is now open to anyone interested in subscribing regardless of profession or faith affiliation.

Mennonite Health Journal has evolved from its days of being a quarterly print publication serving the predecessors of Mennonite Healthcare Fellowship (MHF). The first change happened five years ago when MHF was formed and MHJ became an entirely online publication although still a collection of articles published together on a quarterly basis. Now, in order to adapt to the reading styles of the current generation and thereby increase readership, MHJ will be published as individual articles whenever they become available.

Articles will be published in several formats while we get a feel for the preferences of our readers:

• As a blog entry on the MHF website at mennohealth.org.
• On social media sites–currently, Facebook and Twitter.
• Via email to persons subscribing to specific mailing lists.

The big news is that MHF is starting a new mailing list specifically for Mennonite Health Journal! During a transition period, everyone on the current large MHF mailing list will receive the emails along with a link to encourage you to sign up on the new email list specific to the Journal. Eventually, the switch will be made so that only those on the new Journal-specific email list will receive the emails.  All along, there will continue to be opportunities to join the new mailing list at any time.  This will help you regulate the amount and type of emails you want to receive from Mennonite Healthcare Fellowship.

Upcoming articles include a number of reports from Student Elective Term and Steven Roth Memorial Grant recipients. However, we can receive many other kinds of articles.  In fact, these overall changes in the format of MHJ will be most effective if you as readers also become contributors!

Mennonite Healthcare Fellowship’s new strategic plan calls for renewed focus on mutual support, education, mentoring, and mobilization for service. Here are article ideas in each of these areas. This list is meant to be suggestive, not by any means exhaustive.

Mutual support & mentoring

• Lifestyle choices as a Christian professional, including the nurture of marriage and family.
• Spiritual practices as a busy professional.
• Supporting each other in local areas.
• Ethical concerns in your professional life.
• Cultivating a simple lifestyle in the midst of a culture that always wants more.
• Models for mentoring.
• Being a witness in our work for God’s reign in the world.

Education

• Environmental issues and health, both locally and globally
• Food and health.
• The changing healthcare scene in the U.S.
• Spirituality and mental health.
• What is holistic health.
• The implications of alternative health practices
• Empowering the patient/client in the Internet age
• Effects of trauma on physical, mental, and spiritual health.
• Public health from an Anabaptist perspective
• Sexual abuse – Healing for victims, perpetrators, and society
• Gun violence as a public health concern

Mobilization for service

• Serving in underserved communities.
• Balancing the need for income with taking time to serve those who can’t pay.
• Reports of service projects.
• Community development and health.

Please let us know if you want to write an article on any subject.  We also want to find ways of enabling more comments to articles from both website and social media. Watch for new commenting features to come!

In this ongoing evolution of Mennonite Health Journal, your feedback is crucial! MHF exists to serve all who are interested in the intersection of Anabaptist Christian faith and the health of humanity in all of its aspects. Please send us your comments at any time on any article or on the overall effort! If you wish to use email, send to info@mennohealth.org. Phone calls or text messages are accepted at 1-888-406-3643.

Please sign up now for the new Mennonite Health Journal mailing list!

Your financial contribution is also welcomed at payment.mennohealth.org.

About the author

Paul D. Leichty, M.Div. was the first Executive Director of Mennonite Healthcare Fellowship (MHF), serving from Sept. 2011 through May 2020.  Paul has served as a pastor, church musician, computer support person, disabilities advocate, and administrator/organizer of a number of church-related ministries. In addition to responsibilities at MHF, Paul is Executive Director of Congregational Accessibility Network and was formerly Director of User Services at Mennonite.net.  He is a member of Agape Fellowship of the Mennonite Church in Williamsport, Pennsylvania where he lives with his wife, Twila Charles Leichty.