A Healthy Community: St. Thomas Advent Lunches

First three Mondays in Advent from noon to 1 pm

Gather in the parish hall for a vegetarian soup and salad lunch and a time to reflect on community health. Our renovated nave will be open for tours after each lunch on December 9 & 16.

December 2: Florence Nightingale: Health Reformer, Dr. Melissa Pritchard

A good friend of St. Thomas, author Melissa Pritchard, will speak about Florence Nightingale, founder of modern-day nursing, social reformer, statistician and mystic. Second only in influence to Queen Victoria, this nineteenth century British genius was a woman of both science and spirit.

In her novel, Flight of the Wild Swan, Pritchard tells the story of the compassionate, precocious child, the rebellious adolescent called by God to serve the suffering, and the courageous, trailblazing woman who changed the course of medical history,

During the luncheon, Melissa will share a slide presentation of Nightingale's life and a brief reading from her historical novel, followed by a question and answer period and booksigning.

December 9: Our Community’s Health - Dr. Asante Hilts & Mr. Jack Lockwood

Dr. Asante Hilts and Mr. Jack Lockwood will highlight the health of our community, including findings from the most recent community health needs assessment, and strategies for addressing health needs around us. Dr. Asante Hilts is the CEO of Valley Healthcare System Inc, a community health center offering comprehensive, preventative healthcare for the Chattahoochee Valley.

As a public health practitioner and epidemiologist, Dr. Hilts is passionate about community health, equitable access to healthcare, and addressing the social determinants of health.

Jack Lockwood is a Healthcare Program Consultant Supervisor with the Georgia Department of Public Health, West Central Health District. His work focuses on ensuring effective program implementation and service delivery to meet the health needs of district communities.

December 16: MercyMed

Dr. Grant Scarborough and Mr. Billy Holbrook will share an overview of the ministry of MercyMed of Columbus including the mission and history of the clinic, services they provide, and how they understand healthcare to be ministry.

Dr. Grant Scarborough is the CEO of MercyMed and a board certified pediatrician and internal medicine physician. He desires to see God glorified through caring for the poor and discipling young medical students to do the same.

Mr. Billy Holbrook joined the MercyMed staff in 2014 and is now the Chief Financial Officer. Billy is responsible for fundraising, community awareness projects and donor relations.