The Mission Street Health Fair -
Praise God for Many Hands!

by Craig Wong - GUM Newsletter, Winter 2009

Your prayers for the Mission Street Health Fair were much appreciated as over 300 residents from San Francisco and Daly City received care from an amazing team of congregational members and agency representatives. The fair was hosted by San Francisco Christian Center (SFCC), along with Cumberland Presbyterian Church of Daly City, Grace Fellowship Community Church, Redeemer Community Church, and other local congregations, such as Mission Presbyterian Church, St. John of God and SF Church of the Sojourners. These congregations joined together with other agencies to comprise the many hands. For example:

• SFCC nurses took blood pressure readings. The Black Nurses Association joined the effort by measuring cholesterol and glucose levels.
• SFCC members gave healthy cooking demos. Others shared about healthy lifestyle through Body & Soul, a program supported by the UCSF Helen Diller Family Cancer Center.
• A promotoras team from SF General Hospital was on hand to provide one-on-one or group  education on diabetes prevention.
• The UC Berkeley School of Optometry sent over a dozen and a half amazing students who provided vision screenings for visual acuity and eye health.
• SFCC’s youth pastor led an inter-congregational team of young people to reach out to neighbors in the streets with balloons and flyers.

Congregational health professionals were joined by reps of the SF Department of Public Health, California Pacific Medical Center (flu-shots) and other agencies, including the American Heart Association, the Project for Community Health Access, San Mateo Health Plan, San Mateo Children’s Health Collaborative, San Mateo Community Action Agency, the UCSF Children’s Health Hut, California Acupuncture Center, Mama Café, and the American Association of Retired Persons. We praise God for countless labors of love demonstrated on that day. See Photos of the Health Fair!