Faith Community Nursing

What Is Faith Community Nursing Ministry (FCNM)?

Faith Community Nursing, sometimes called Parish Nursing, is a ministry of Christ’s Church Yucaipa that collaborates with the Rector (senior pastor), other clergy, our Vestry (church board), and other caring members to fulfill the healing mission of the church. Congregational benefits include allowing the church to reaffirm its role in ministering to the whole person—body, mind, and spirit—enhancing the ability of the church to respond to the health needs of the congregation, impacting the wellness of the faith community. While the focus of the ministry is on preventative healthcare, some of the ways members are helped to lead healthier lives is through education, screenings, and referrals to community resources.

Responsibilities of a Faith Community Nurse

The nurses working in this partnership model work with those who are most in need and who are often not able to connect with the services and programs that are available to them. They provide for people’s most basic human needs for food, shelter, love, compassionate connection, and a place to be warm and safe. Responsibilities may include:

  • Answering questions about a diagnosis, medical treatment, medication, or procedures

  • Coordinating a treatment plan given by a doctor

  • Checking blood pressure

  • Visiting homes, hospitals, or convalescent facilities as needed to check on the health status of members, or for bereavement

  • Accompanying a member to their doctor’s appointment to be a “second set of ears”

  • Staying with a member during surgery if family is not available

  • Helping a member prepare for his/her next doctor’s appointment

  • Offer resources, referrals, advocacy, and a listening presence to people who have health needs

  • Praying with members

  • Facilitating educational classes

  • Providing education and health counseling

  • Advising on safety measures in the church building

  • Providing outreach to the community

  • Identifying, recruiting, and training care-giving volunteers

Who Is a Faith Community Nurse?

Recognized as a specialty by the American Nurses Association, a Faith Community Nurse is a spiritually mature, professional registered nurse, called and committed to the healing ministry of the church. An FCN has completed a preparation course that lays the necessary foundation for successful health ministry.

A Faith Community Nurse Does Not

  • Provide direct hands-on medical care or give medical advice.

  • Replace a parishioner’s regular health providers

  • Provide emergency medical care (If you are experiencing a medical emergency, you should call 911 or your medical provider)

How to Request FCNM Services

Services requests may be submitted by email to our Coordinator of our Faith Community Nursing Ministry, Asun Williams, at Asun@christschurchweb.org. Please download, fill out, and attach this form to send to Asun.

You may also speak with our FCNM Coordinator Asun Williams or a clergy member at a worship service or event of Christ’s Church Yucaipa.

Asun Williams, RN, FCNM Coordinator

Asun has been a nurse for 38 years, working first as an emergency care nurse for nine years in Spain before coming to the United States. She earned her Nursing Diploma in Spain and is a licensed Registered Nurse (RN). Asun recently retired from the San Bernardino Department of Public Health, where she specialized in maternal, child, and adolescent health. Sensing a call to share her medical expertise with her Christ’s Church parish, Asun took a course of study and earned her Faith Community Nursing Certification through the Diocese of Fresno (2022).