On Thursday morning, March 14, 2013, I had the privilege of
attending the Sixth Annual Women of Faith Breakfast sponsored by NY City
Council Speaker Christine Quinn. The
Breakfast, at Union Theological Seminary, featured Dr. Mehmet Oz as the Keynote
speaker, He spoke on the importance of Faith in Healing.
The Mistress of Ceremonies for the event was Rev. Dr. Renee
Washington Gardner, widow of the Rev. Dr. Preston Washington, Pastor of
Memorial Baptist Church. Dr. Washington,
an NYTS Alum and the wife of Rev. Dr. Sean P. Gardner, Sr, has the distinction
of being the first woman to serve, simultaneously, as Senior Pastor of one
congregation and First Lady of another.
The morning began with a song by Exousia, the praise team at
Rivers at Rehoboth Church. This was
followed by prayer by Rabbi Linda Goodman, who in March 2012 was installed as
the first female President of the New York Board of Rabbis. After the prayer, the Rev. Dr. Serene Jones,
the 16th President of Union Theological Seminary and first female to
hold the post, offered her remarks.
Following Dr. Jones was Rev. Suzan Johnson Cook, former Pastor of
Mariner’s Temple Baptist Church, and Founder of the Bronx Christian Fellowship
Baptist Church. Rev. Johnson Cook now
serves as US Ambassador at Large for Religious Freedom. She is the first female and the first
African-American to hold that position.
Rev. Johnson Cook brought greetings from President and Mrs. Obama, and
offered a prayer for Assistant Deputy Majority Leader Inez Dickens. Ms. Dickens
was a co-sponsor of the event, but due to the untimely death of her husband
earlier that morning, was not able to be present. All assembled joined Rev. Johnson Cook in
prayer for her.
Rev. Johnson Cook also introduced speaker Quinn. On this morning of firsts, it occurs to me
that Speaker Quinn may be the first legally married lesbian to run for Mayor of
NY City. While not allowed to endorse
any candidate, Rev. Johnson Cook introduced Speaker Quinn as an advocate,
activist, and analyst who is a competent, confident and charismatic candidate
for Mayor of NYC, noting her extensive work with the Women of Faith
Breakfasts.
Speaker Quinn noted that this was the Sixth Annual WOF
Breakfast; prior ones have resulted in increased awareness of HIV/AIDS, and enactment
of a law that made Kindergarten mandatory.
The focus of the breakfast was to be twofold: a prioritization of women’s health and a conversation
between spirituality and health. Speaker
Quinn noted that women of faith (this was targeted at faith leaders) must lead
by example and must help one another.
Dr. Mehmet Oz, three-time Daytime Emmy® Award-winning host
of “The Dr. Oz Show,” is Vice-Chair and Professor of Surgery at Columbia University., He also directs the Cardiovascular Institute
and Complementary Medicine Program at New York Presbyterian Hospital. He is the author of over 400 original
publications, has received several patents, and performs more than 100 heart
surgeries per year.
Dr. Oz began his presentation by telling of a time he visited a hospital in Camden, NJ. He was surprised to see that, inside one structure, there was a hospital on one side and a church on the other. He than explained that, until about the 1900s, this was not an unusual arrangement: hospitals were places where people went to die, while temples were places of healing.
He spoke about how women are often spiritual leaders of the
community, using his own wife (a UTS alum and the spiritual head of his
household) as an example. He used this
to segue into the importance of faith in healing, and spoke of his own
experiences. Dr. Oz went from putting
mechanical heart pumps in people to realizing that those people needed more to
stay alive. He realized, he said, that
when a heart gives up, it’s a “spiritual civil war.” So he began to talk to people on the verge of
death and listen to what they learned.
One of the things he learned, he said, was that most predictors of a heart attack are not medical. The Life Force, the Energy (the soul or the Spirit) is important, and we, especially those of us in the West, need to take a more globalized view of medicine, which includes connecting with that Life Force. He noted the three functions of doctor: Doctor, from Latin Doctore, to Teach; Physician, from the Latin physica, or Natural Science, or having to do with physics; and Medicine, which is from the Latin for HEALING.
Dr. Oz then went into one of the areas of his research interest,
which is Complementary Alternative Medicine, the most common manifestation of
which is PRAYER. Since most patients
choose not to discuss prayer with their physicians, this points to an increased
need for Pastoral services in a hospital environment: Rabbis, Imams, Reverends, etc – people need
HOPE, he said, and HOPE translates into making sense of what’s going on in one’s
life.
He then cited studies showing the role of music in
healing. These studies showed increased
brain activity while music was played to patients, even to patients under
anaesthesia. Other studies showed that
music and or recorded suggestions would help people to bleed less during
surgeries. Dr. Oz noted that he now uses
audio tapes to help his patients feel more peaceful and to heal more
quickly. He cites as the basis for this a
study with 750 people undergoing heart catheterization. This was a double-blind study in which
patients got additional treatments of music, imagery and touch (laying on of
hands), and off-site intercessory prayer.
While there was no statistical difference between people who received
conventional treatments and those who received treatments with intercessory
prayer, the studies showed a statistical increase in results among those who
prayed and were prayed for!
Dr. Oz talked about his relationship with Oprah Winfrey, and
the lessons he learned from her. These
were particularly important to him as a male, since males and females often
approach life issues differently. The
lessons he says he learned were:
· Feelings change minds
· Ancient solutions work (hence the reliance on prayer and laying on of hands); and
· Make it easy to do the right thing.
Dr. Oz then left us with Five Things we can do that control
70% of how well and how long we live.
They are:
· No cigarettes or toxins
· Exercise 30 minutes per day. Especially in large metropolitan areas, take advantage of the opportunity to walk!
· Healthy diet that is easy to love; and
· Stress Control. He had us do some deep breathing exercises which he says are at the core of Islam, Buddhism and ancient Christian practices. He emphasized breathing from the diaphragm, four counts in and four counts out, explaining that this causes a rush of nitrous oxide to the brain, which is at the core of mystic healing practices.
Last but not least, Dr. Oz concluded his presentation by
urging us to share the message, stating that if we do so, we would effect more
healing than he ever could.
Last but not least, here's a link to the official NYC photos from the event.
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