Mennonite Health Journal
Articles on the intersection of faith and health
Mennonite Health Journal, Vol. 15, No. 2, April 2013
Paul D. Leichty
from Mennonite Health Journal, Vol. 15, No. 2, April 2013
This issue of Mennonite Health Journal
Welcome to this April 2013 issue of Mennonite Health Journal! This is the first issue to be published directly to the new journal display system on MHF’s new website. See the graphical illustration of the navigation system.
Spring (in the northern hemisphere, at least!) and the Easter season bring with them the reminder that often the most challenging “winter” experiences can be the most transformative experiences bringing us new life. With that in mind, here is what you will find in this issue of MHJ.
MHF President, Joe Longacher, asks the question, “What’s in a Name?” He reflects on the process by which the name “Mennonite Healthcare Fellowship” was chosen for the new organization birthed by Mennonite Medical Association and Mennonite Nurses Association. In a similar manner, he also introduces readers to the upcoming Annual Gathering, June 21-23, 2013 in Goshen, Indiana.
Harold D. Lehman is one of the few persons still living who can reach back in adult memory to the days of a devastating world war in the 1940’s. In his article, “Conscientious Objectors and the Transformation of Mental Healthcare,” he shows how those who were opposed to that war ended up transforming the mental health system in the U.S.
Learning and serving in another culture can be both anxiety-producing and transformational! Sarah Buller Phillips, the most recent participant in MHF’s Student Elective Term, shares “SET Reflections” on her recent SET experience in India.
Traveling north from India, we come to “Letters from Nepal” by seasoned physician, Theo Beels. His story about a 12-year-old girl is illustrative of the theme of this year’s Annual Gathering, “Moral Dilemmas in Healthcare.”
Mennonite Chaplains Association President, Kenton Derstine, brings the “Moral Dilemmas” theme back to the U.S. as he offers “Reflections on Escape Fire” (the documentary on the U.S. healthcare system). Might we as Mennonites have a key to a crucial “escape fire”?
Finally, Paul Leichty, MHF Executive Director, reflects on “Moral Dilemmas and Healthcare Ethics: The Future of ACHE.” ACHE is the Anabaptist Center for Healthcare Ethics which was active from 2001 to 2007. Can this unique Mennonite initiative be revived?
| Published by Mennonite Healthcare Fellowship PO Box 918 Goshen, IN 46527-0918 Phone: 1-888-406-3643 Email: info@mennohealth.org Web: www.mennohealth.org | Credits: Joseph Longacher, Executive Editor Paul D. Leichty, Editor Photographs supplied by authors unless otherwise noted. |
If you prefer, you can read the entire issue in PDF format: Mennonite Health Journal, 2013-04
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.