Mind, Body & Spirit

Just Pray: An Interview with Pastor John Hannah

Many of us want to pray and grow in our prayer life, but struggle to figure out how to pray. Pastor John Hannah has insight to share. UrbanFaith interviewed Pastor Hannah about his new book Just Pray: How A Life Of Prayer Grows Unshakeable Faith.

With more than a million children orphaned by COVID, faith-based groups look to mobilize support

More than a million children around the world may have been orphaned by COVID-19, losing one or both parents to the disease or related causes.

With Roots in Civil Rights, Community Health Centers Push for Equity in the Pandemic

In the 1960s, health care across the Mississippi Delta was sparse and much of it was segregated. Some hospitals were dedicated to Black patients, but they often struggled to stay afloat. At the height of the civil rights movement, young Black doctors launched a movement of their own to address the care disparity that continues today.

Hospitals, Insurers Invest Big Dollars to Tackle Patients’ Social Needs

The move to address social needs is gaining steam nationally because, after nearly a dozen years focused on expanding insurance under the Affordable Care Act, many experts and policymakers agree that simply increasing access to health care is not nearly enough to improve patients’ health.

Cooking Up Success In Community: An Interview with Chef Q

UrbanFaith sat down with Chef Q who is the Executive Chef & Owner of Q1227 restaurant outside of Sacramento as he shared his recipe not only to survive, but thrive as an restauranteur, person of faith, and community catalyst in the midst of the pandemic.

Black community has new option for health care: The church

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Every Sunday at Friendship Missionary Baptist Church, the Rev. Joseph Jackson Jr. praises the Lord before his congregation. But since last fall he's been praising something else his Black community needs: the COVID-19 vaccine. "We want to continue to...

NIH director: We asked God for help with COVID-19, and vaccines are the ‘answer to that prayer’

To help explain the role of faith groups in the national vaccine push, Religion News Service spoke with Francis Collins, an evangelical Christian who also serves as director of the National Institutes of Health. Collins discussed the program, as well as his faith and how he views the intersection of religion and science. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Trying to Avoid Racist Health Care, Black Women Seek Out Black Obstetricians

In addition to shared culture and values, a Black physician can offer Black patients a sense of safety, validation and trust. Research has shown that racism, discrimination and unconscious bias continue to plague the U.S. health care system and can cause unequal treatment of racial and ethnic minorities.

Will You Worry, Or Will You Remember?

As you lay in your bed at night, maybe you feel a sharp, persistent pain in your chest that will not leave. Or perhaps it is a sunken feeling in your stomach that feels like you swallowed a golf ball. For another person, it might be an inability to click the...

Racism Derails Black Men’s Health, Even as Education Levels Rise

More education typically leads to better health, yet Black men in the U.S. are not getting the same benefit as other groups, research suggests. The reasons for the gap are vexing, experts said, but may provide an important window into unique challenges faced by Black men as they try to gain not only good health but also an equal footing in the U.S.

Remembering the Black Wall Street Massacre

On that Memorial Day weekend, June 1st, 1921, Greenwood, Oklahoma, was brought to an abrupt end. Black wall street was wiped off the map. 300 African Americans murdered, possibly more. Our rural and urban Black communities deserve better. Take our stories and biblical connections and use them to make a difference.

Saved and Depressed: A Real Conversation About Faith and Mental Health

When you see a man walking down the street talking to himself, what is your first thought? Most likely it’s, “He is crazy!” What about the lady at the bus stop yelling strange phases? You immediately become guarded and move as far away from her as possible. I know you’ve done it. We all have.

Feeding your Temple: Body, Mind, and Spirit

God gave each of us these beautiful temples that were made in His image. It is imperative that we take care of them and treasure them just as He treasures us.

The Simple and Hard Facts About Being a Healthy Black Person

Being healthy is pretty simple, but most people in the United States find it pretty hard. And for an African American, it’s over-the-top hard. Not only is the struggle of getting healthy and maintaining a healthy lifestyle embedded in the culture, but there are sometimes actual physical and financial obstacles to overall health.

Health is Wealth

Whether you need to cram in a visit to the health center in-between college classes or you are scheduling your very first mammogram, here’s a list of the exams you need by decade.

‘Painless’ Glucose Monitors Pushed Despite Little Evidence They Help Most Diabetes Patients

In the nation’s battle against the diabetes epidemic, the go-to weapon being aggressively promoted to patients is as small as a quarter and worn on the belly or arm.

Black Churches Fill a Unique Role in Combating Vaccine Fears

Many of us look to our religious leaders for guidance on a wide range of issues — not just spiritual ones. Their credibility is especially crucial on matters of health.

All Along You Were Blooming: Thoughts for Boundless Living

In her book, “All Along You Were Blooming: Thoughts For Boundless Living,” Morgan Harper Nichols not only expresses herself beautifully in both word and visual art, she offers a poetic balm to every person familiar with the sting of suffering.

Amid COVID and Racial Unrest, Black Churches Put Faith in Mental Health Care

Black Americans are less likely to receive mental health treatment than the overall population. But as needs soar this year, faith leaders are tapping health professionals to share coping skills churchgoers and the community can use immediately.

What’s not being said about why African Americans need to take the COVID-19 vaccine

Black people are skeptical about the new vaccines for many reasons. If public health leaders told the full story, maybe there would be a higher chance that Black people would want to take the vaccine.

5 Reasons Why African Americans Should Consider Taking the COVID-19 Vaccine

Before having the chance to speak with Surgeon General Jerome M. Adams, I’ll admit I was a little nervous myself. But here are five key points from our conversation that are solid reasons why you should consider taking the vaccine.

Keep Calm and Carry On – But How?

A psychologist offers 10 tips to manage the uncertainty and stress of election aftermath.

The Black Church & HIV

World AIDS Day: A national network of faith leaders, religious institutions, and community members are committed to making change and ending the HIV epidemic in Black America.

Black clergy, United Way to launch anti-coronavirus effort

The new initiative is designed to combat the coronavirus’ outsized toll on African Americans through ramped-up testing, contact tracing and treatment management.

How to host a safe holiday meal during coronavirus

COVID-19 and holiday family gatherings are not a good pair. But taking the right precautions before, during and after the family gets together can greatly reduce coronavirus risk this holiday season.

Black Doctors Work to Make Coronavirus Testing More Equitable

The Black Doctors COVID-19 Consortium has increased access to coronavirus testing in the Philadelphia region, testing more than 10,000 people. The group’s mobile unit and pop-up testing sites also offer patients an opportunity to connect with African American health care providers.

Pink Ribbon Warriors

Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer among African American women — and their most common cause of cancer death. Here are tips for reducing your risk and winning the fight.

Good nutrition can contribute to keeping COVID-19 and other diseases away

The COVID-19 pandemic won’t be the last we face, so it’s vital that we use every preventive tool we as a society have. Think of good nutrition as a seat belt for your health; it doesn’t guarantee you won’t get sick, but it helps to ensure the best outcomes.

Tired or stressed? Maybe it’s time for a digital detox

Cell phones and other digital devices can be a great way to keep up with the news and stay connected with friends and family, but using one excessively can increase your stress levels, negatively impact sleep and limit the amount of quality time you spend with your significant other.

Rhymes Of Their Times: Young Poets Riff On Type 2

Young people are harnessing the power of poetry to raise awareness about Type 2 diabetes.

Why Black Aging Matters, Too

Old. Chronically ill. Black. People who fit this description are more likely to die from COVID-19 than any other group in the country. Yet, older Black Americans have received little attention as protesters proclaim that Black Lives Matter and experts churn out studies about the coronavirus.

COVID vaccine trial includes Black Christian university presidents

President C. Reynold Verret of Xavier University of Louisiana and President Walter M. Kimbrough of Dillard University are taking part in the Phase 3 trial of the Ochsner Health System.

Chadwick Boseman’s death from colorectal cancer underscores health gaps for African Americans

The tragic death of Chadwick Boseman at age 43 following a four-year battle against colorectal cancer underscores two important public health concerns.

‘Is This When I Drop Dead?’

Two Doctors Report From the COVID Front Lines.

Namaste Noir: Yoga Co-Op Seeks to Diversify Yoga to Heal Racialized Trauma

In dealing with her son’s violent murder, fear over the coronavirus pandemic and the stress of coping with systemic racism, Beverly Grant has found strength and peace through yoga.

What spiritual retreats can teach us about the challenges of lockdown

Learning from the example of spiritual retreats.

On the Minds of Black Lives Matter Protesters: A Racist Health System

When speaking out against the loss of black lives, it is tough to separate those who die at the hands of police from those who die in a pandemic that has laid bare the structural racism baked into the American health system.

10 activities for body and mind while social distancing

Staying busy, positive, and hopeful while you’re at home due to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic can help you maintain good mental and physical health.

How hope can keep you healthier and happier

Hope can be acquired. How? Here are some suggestions from an expert.

Modern Faith

Dr. Neichelle Guidry, currently the Dean of the Chapel and Director of the WISDOM Center at Spelman College, shares her authentic and uplifting approach to ministry, the new season of her podcast Modern Faith, and the woman she admires most in the Bible.

Social distancing comes with social side effects – here’s how to stay connected

Physically isolating yourself can feel psychologically isolating too. But there are ways to maintain connections in these stressful coronavirus times.

COMMENTARY: A beginner’s guide to meditation

Meditation removes us from the momentary, anxious world where we normally live and brings us to the timeless, serene world of the divinely empowered.

Take A Deep Breath: Making Risk-Based Decisions In The Coronavirus Era

Just last week, it seemed OK to have lunch out or maybe meet up with friends for a game of pickup soccer. Now, in the fast-moving world of the coronavirus response, that’s no longer the case. More and better social distancing is required. But what’s still acceptable?

How To Avoid Coronavirus? Lessons From People Whose Lives Depend On It

As the new coronavirus continues its spread through the U.S., the general public can look for guidance from millions of Americans with weakened immune systems who long ago adopted the rules of infection control that officials tout to avoid the contagion.