While the links between good nutrition and holistic well-being are well established, A growing number of researchers are tracing specific connections between poor diet and poor mental health—including depression. It's a relationship that's getting attention from big backers, too—including a major project from the European Union, and a trial from the U.S. Dept. of Defense to boost the nutrition of former soldiers in an attempt to stem veterans' high suicide rates. Solid evidence is mounting that the high-fat, high-sodium, high-sugar diet of the fast-food crazed West is doing damage not only to our collective waistline, but also our mental health and happiness.
And the cost of this—culturally, personally, and financially—is very painful. The BBC's David Robson reports: "For [Australian researcher Felice] Jacka, a break in our love affair with fast food can't come quickly enough. According to some predictions, nearly half of all Americans will be obese by 2030 – with countries across the world following similar trends. "If we add depression to the burden of illness that results from unhealthy diet," she says, "no country can afford the cost.""
As you ponder how to promote well-being for yourself and your community, how prepared are you to encourage people toward good nutrition? The effects of diet can be far-reaching, impacting body, mind, and spirit. (And we really don't need research to convince us of that, do we?)
—Paul Pastor, after reading the BBC's "Is Fast Food Making Us Depressed?"
Art Cleverly Disguised as Information
Ours is a day of "infographics," slickly designed visuals charting out key information on topics ranging from geographical political affiliation, to American dialects, to pastors' beards. You've seen them popping up everywhere—from magazines to advertising, to that-thing-you-liked-on-Facebook. But as proof that we're looking to information to do much more than inform, I offer "Info•Rama," a small art gallery showing in Long Beach, California, that closed just before this issue mailed (sorry). The show featured a dozen beautiful, intricately designed and data-packed infographics ranging in topic from leafcutter ants to the life of Nikolai Tesla. While only a minor blip on the cultural radar, it's an interesting one—what does it say about our culture that we now look to data not only for usefulness but for beauty; not only for information, but for inspiration?
Information art for an information age
A break from generations before, we live in an age of big data on small screens, a day of the sharp image and slick, constant input. Love it? Hate it? Either way, it's shaping our imaginations, and inspiring a generation to create in a world of constantly visible facts.
Let's just not neglect formation in favor of information.
—Paul Pastor, after reading "Art in the Infographic Age" at BoingBoing.net.
5 Ways Churches Can Respond to the Unaccompanied Children Crisis
What can churches do to respond to the unaccompanied children immigration crisis at the U.S./Mexico border? Here are five practical ways forward from Matthew Soerens, the Field Director for the Evangelical Immigration Table and the U.S. Church Training Specialist at World Relief.
In the past months, tens of thousands of children and teenagers have arrived at the U.S./Mexico border unaccompanied, most of them coming from Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador. Many have fled the horrific levels of violence in these Central American countries, much of it perpetrated with impunity by criminal gangs. Many have been recruited by human smuggling operations, which prey upon these young people's vulnerability. Many already have parents or other family members in the United States with whom they hope to be reunited. Whatever the factors that inform their decision to leave—and despite the tragedy that some die along the perilous journey across Mexico, which many undertake atop freight trains—nearly 60,000 unaccompanied children have arrived already this fiscal year, (though July saw a marked drop in the numbers of kids arriving).
There are five ways that any church could provide assistance:
1. Give. Organizations like the National Latino Evangelical Coalition, working in partnership with the government, rely upon donations to cover expenses beyond those covered by governmental grants. World Vision is working with local partners to deliver needed supplies to children at the border.
2. Address Root Causes. While North American churches cannot set governmental policies in Central America, we can partner with churches and faith-based organizations abroad to alleviate violence and poverty. The Association for a More Just Society is one example. They work within Honduras to expose corruption and provide legal and psychological support for victims. International Justice Mission does similar work in Guatemala.
3. Disciple. A disturbingly high percentage of white evangelical Christians, think about the immigration issue purely from a political or economic perspective. According to Pew, just 12% of white evangelicals and 9% of all Protestant Christians say that their views on immigration are primarily informed by their Christian faith. Only 16% of white evangelicals and 20% of all Protestants remember hearing immigration mentioned by their pastor. Our churches have failed to disciple those under our care to respond to immigrants as Christians should.
4. Advocate. Church leaders across the political spectrum have affirmed an Evangelical Statement of Principles for Immigration Reform. One simple way for leaders to advocate is to formally affirm that Statement. Beyond that, church leaders can watch for town hall events where they can interact with their Member of Congress. Members of Congress are often willing to meet with their constituents—particularly pastors who represent a constituency beyond themselves—to hear concerns. Doing so is a fine way to "speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves" (Proverbs 31:8).
5. Pray. While not all Christ-followers will agree on a public policy response, we all should take seriously the biblical command to pray "for kings and all those in authority" (1 Timothy 2:2). Ultimately, our hope for these vulnerable children is not "in princes, in human being who cannot save" but in "the Lord [who] watches over the foreigner and sustains the fatherless and the widow" (Psalm 146:3, 9).
Back to Schools
"Barna Group asked Americans what they think about the country's public education: Only 7% of U.S. adults said the public education system in our nation is "very effective." Nearly half (46%) maintain that public schools have further declined in the last five years. A mere one-third of parents of school-age children (34%) say public schools are their first choice for their children. … In many ways, local congregations are already contributing a great deal to the "educational ecosystem."
Educators. According to Barna polling, nearly half of the nation's public educators are practicing Christians—people who attend church at least monthly and say their faith is very important in their life. Critics who claim faith has been removed from public schools seem to overlook the countless hours these teachers, counselors, administrators and coaches devote to shaping students.
Volunteers. Practicing Christians are more likely to volunteer for their local public school than are non-Christians. In fact, of those who regularly volunteer at public schools, two-thirds (65%) attend church. Considering that practicing Christians constitute less than half of the national adult population, their significant involvement in education is statistically exceptional.
Churches. Many churches in America provide support and volunteers for public schools. For example, almost half of the nation's churches offer support and networking for educators who attend their church. About one-quarter of churches offer some kind of mentoring or after-school program for kids or youth. And about two-fifths of youth pastors say they frequently discuss college decisions with students.
—From Barna Group's "Public Schools: Christians Are Part of the Solution
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