Health Ministry

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Health Ministry at St. Monica promotes the spiritual health of the whole person and is supported by a Providence St. John’s Faith Community Nurse (Parish Nurse). Through a mind, body, and spirit approach, Health Ministry offers health and wellness information to our parish community. This approach expands and builds upon our parish’s traditional outreach of visitation to the sick, support groups, and referrals to community agencies.

This past year our programming included very informative presentations on Women's Health, Men's Health, Catholic Teaching on End-of-Life Care, and Red Cross Blood Drives. Now that it is summer, it is time for the Healthy Living Speaker Series! Because we are still in our Safer at Home period, we will be hosting our Speaker Series by Zoom, so you can watch from the comfort of your own home (and invite friends & family from across the country).

Christine Gerety, or (310) 566-1531.

Speakers Series

Virtual Healthy Living Speaker Series 2020

We want to help you stay health in mind, body & spirit this summer! Our Healthy Living Speaker Series is focusing on the big health issue of the day: COVID-19. We want you to have the facts: know how to best care for yourselves, your loved ones, and our whole community; and ways that we can grow spiritually and connect more deeply with God during this time. Register today!

Maintaining Health During Covid-19: Body, Mind & Spirit

Sunday, July 12 at 11:30 a.m.

How can we stay healthy and still lead full lives during this COVID-19 time? We have a fantastic panel of St. Monica parishioners who can help us! Our panel includes UCLA Acute Care Nurse Practitioner Brianna Rodrigues; Cedar-Sinai Epidemiology Analyst Ryan Raypon; and Carolyn Pierce, a COVID-19 survivor. Come hear their advice, reflections and ideas!

Brianna Rodrigues, M.S., B.S., is an Acute Care Nurse Practitioner at UCLA, University of California Los Angeles, Hospital. She’s been working at UCLA for over 6 years in internal medicine, and currently works in the Geriatrics Department. She’s also an active member in YMA, and has helped lead other events including the Thanksgiving Boutique, and the recent Prayer Walk to End Racial Inequality.

Ryan Raypon, M.S., M.P.H. is a parishioner of St Monica’s since 2015. Ryan is a graduate from the University of California San Diego with a BS in General Biology went on to earn a Masters in Science in Biology from New York University in 2014 with an emphasis in neuroscience, genetics, and infectious disease and a Masters of Public Health from the University of California Los Angeles in 2017 with a concentration in Infectious Disease Epidemiology. Ryan has experience working with global and local health organizations working with both the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) and Los Angeles County Department of Health Services. Ryan currently works with the Hospital Epidemiology team of CedarsSinai MedicalCenter in Beverly Hills as an Epidemiology Analyst and has been involved in the hospital’s response efforts to COVID-19.

carolyn pierce photo Carolyn Pierce joined St Monica’s in 2009 and has been an active member of many ministries including YMA and Cornerstone. She was also the volunteer coordinator of our youth group programs, including teen confirmation, for 7 years. She became a COVID survivor back in March, and since her recovery has been sharing her experience, and antibodies with others #lifesaver. In her professional life she is an Associate Partner for McKinsey & Company, where her work focuses on helping clients through organizational transformations.

COVID19: Scientific Myths & Facts

Sunday, July 19 at 11:30 a.m.

If your head is spinning trying to keep track of what we know and don't know about COVID-19, you are not alone! Mixed in with the facts that we're hearing, there are also a lot of myths. Join us as Dr. Amy Nguyen Howell helps us focus on the facts, dispel the myths, understand the public health data and information reports that we hear, and make good choices based on science.

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Amy Nguyen Howell, M.D., M.B.A., a St. Monica parishioner, is a family practice physician at Cedars-Sinai Medical Network, serves as the Chief Medical Officer of America’s Physician Groups (APG) and supports the advocacy and leadership pillars of excellence at APG through legislative and networking events throughout the country. She is an adjunct faculty member at the USC Sol Price School of Public Policy, with a focus in Quality of Care. A member of numerous state and national committees, she is also a National Health Service Corps Scholar and Ambassador and Fellow of the American Academy of Family Physicians.

COVID-19 & Catholic Social Teaching

Sunday, July 26 at 11:30 a.m.

COVID-19 has focused our attention on the stark health disparities that exist in our community, and that those disparities rise from systemic issues. The data show us that Black and Latino/Latinx Angelenos are at a much higher risk of becoming ill with COVID-19, and that Black Angelenos face a disproportionately higher risk of dying. Dr. Susan Cheng will help us understand the realities of these data, and members of our Just Faith Ministry will explain how Catholic Social Teaching can inform our response to creating a more just and healthier community for all Angelenos, and especially for those most at risk.

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Susan Cheng, MD, MMSc, MPH is the Erika J. Glazer Chair in Cardiovascular Health and Population Science, director of Cardiovascular Population Sciences, and director of Public Health Research in the Barbra Streisand Women's Heart Center and Smidt Heart Institute at Cedars-Sinai. Dr. Cheng is a cardiologist, echocardiographer, and clinician-scientist who has authored over 170 publications, and has served on the editorial boards of major cardiovascular and imaging journals as well as on leadership committees for the American Heart Association and American College of Cardiology.

Delis G. Alejandro is the Director of Outreach and Pastoral Care at St. Monica Catholic Community, overseeing all parish outreach, including all Justice and Peace, Pastoral Care, and Community Life ministries. She is a loyal & dedicated Bruin, having graduated from UCLA with a Bachelors in Sociology in 1978, and a Masters in Social Work in 1982. After graduating from UCLA, she worked in community organizing and as a social worker in hospital settings particularly in maternal & child care and neonatal units. Commissioned as a Pastoral Associate, Delis leads lay volunteers in developing and running numerous ministries, including a vibrant young adult ministry, our beloved parish Thanksgiving Dinner and Boutique for those in need, our connection to our sister parish in Nairobi, Kenya, and our Just Faith Ministry, based on Catholic social teaching. In the broader community, she collaborates with multiple social service organizations, working together to address issues of local hunger, housing and health disparities.

Michelle Costa has been the Director of Programs at GO Campaign since 2011. Before this, Michelle was a Teach for America teacher in New Orleans, was Education Manager for the Akanksha Foundation in Mumbai, India, and supported civic education initiatives as a Program Officer for the Center for Civic Education. Through her work at GO Campaign, Michelle supports grassroots local heroes in the United States and 34 countries around the world to address the needs of vulnerable children. At St. Monica's, Michelle has been involved in JustFaith and Stephen's Ministry. She has co-facilitated the JustFaith program and the Church of Second Chances program on prison reform.

What I've Learned So Far: Spiritual Growth in the Time of COVID-19

Sunday, August 2 at 11:30 a.m.

This COVID-19 time has undoubtedly been a challenging one, but also an amazing opportunity for personal growth, especially in our faith lives. Our panel will reflect on the spiritual challenges they've encountered, the lessons they've learned (and are still learning), and will encourage each of us to look inward and do the same.

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Marie McAdam has been a member of St. Monica Catholic Community for 20+ years, and for approximately 17 years, the facilitator of the Wednesday evening Christian Meditation group at St. Monica. Born in New Jersey, she lived, studied and worked in Philadelphia, PA and Boston, MA before moving to California in 1994. Upon moving to California, she continued her work as a graphic designer at a post-production company and as a lay minister, serving the community of St. Monica in a number of capacities, continuing theological studies at LMU, the Center for Spiritual Development in Orange, CA and through the World Community for Christian Meditation, with which the St. Monica Christian Meditation group is affiliated.

Chaplain Blake Arnall is the Manager of Spiritual Care at UCLA Medical Center, Santa Monica. He is an ACPE Certified Educator and a commissioned minister with the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers). He holds a BFA from Art Center College of Design and a Master of Divinity from the Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley, California. He is a member of the Association of Professional Chaplains (APC) and has been a Board Certified Chaplain since 2007. He completed his ACPE Certified Educator training at California Pacific Medical Center in San Francisco. He has experience providing chaplaincy care to oncology, transplant and psychiatric patients and their family members. He has served on Palliative Care Teams and Ethics Committees for over ten years. Prior to joining UCLA Health, he was the Manager of Pastoral Education at Methodist Hospital of Southern California in Arcadia, California.

Carolyn Pierce joined St Monica’s in 2009 and has been an active member of many ministries including YMA and Cornerstone. She was also the volunteer coordinator of our youth group programs, including teen confirmation, for 7 years. She became a COVID survivor back in March, and since her recovery has been sharing her experience, and antibodies with others #lifesaver. In her professional life she is an Associate Partner for McKinsey & Company, where her work focuses on helping clients through organizational transformations.

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