Report on First Community Conversation December 11th

MHF held its first Community Conversations to launch our Five Life Standards for the Healing Profession Project

Report back from Community Conversation 

Thank you to those of you who attended our Community Conversations event on December 11th.  We had a great time getting to know one another better and beginning to brainstorm the context to which MHF will apply an adaptation of Doris Longacre’s Five Life Standards from More with Less (c1976, Herald Press). 

Aside from introductions and getting to know one another, we discussed the current climate of healthcare and the ways our system interacts with the Five Life Standards. Attendees shared personally from their own experiences of seeking to Do Justice, Nurture People, Cherish the Natural Order, NonConform Freely, and Learn from the World Community in healthcare. Paticipants also discussed some of the major systemic issues in health and healing, such as firearm violence, and how discussion of these issues could form a part of our Five Life Standards project. Lastly, participants also brought up the vital importance of self-care as providers, and expressed hope that physical, emotional, and spiritual self-care could be explored as a part of MHF’s project. 

For those of you who could not make it to the meeting, we warmly invite you to still join in our work as this is only the beginning of our journey in this mutual support initiative. We had a fruitful meeting, yet there is still much to discuss and plenty of cooperative work ahead of us.  

Our next step is to form a Nurture Council to guide our project.  The group is open to anyone interested in the Five Life Standards Project–no expertise required, only a willingness to share your ideas and time in this journey together.  Contact Cate or Lyubov if you are interested in joining this group or know of someone that you think would contribute a unique perspective to this work.

We are very excited for the convening of this group and we look forward to learning and exploring together how to strengthen our work and witness as healthcare professionals through the Five Life Standards Project. 

Proposed Five Life Standards for the Healing Professions

1. Do justice for the health and well-being of all.

2. Learn from the world’s communities and their health wisdom.

3. Nurture all people’s health and well-being.

4. Cherish the natural order for healthy bodies and earth.

5. Non-conform freely to live and serve in the pattern Jesus taught us.

MHF Thanks the Schowalter Family Foundation for their generous support!