Pioneer Memorial Church Audio Podcast
Sep 9, 2026 · 43 min · 12 segments
Faith-Based Approaches to Mental & Physical Health & Lifestyle Medicine for Chronic Disease
Eric WalshGuest
Roger SeheultGuestShane AndersonHostPublic health teaches us that health is not just telling people to make better choices as individuals.
What other additional factors determine whether entire communities are healthy or unhealthy?
Some now even say the social political determinants of health, but social determinants of health.
So there are studies that show the lower the number of high school graduates in a number, the higher the risk of a murder happening in that neighborhood.
Environmental things, if you've ever read Richard Rothstein's book, The Color of Law, he talks about the redlining that happened, especially against African-American, Latino communities.
We now know that that environmental change raised the risk of asthma and other diseases because of the pollutants from pollution.
And so we know that the environmental structure is very critical to how well people are going to be healthy.
When I talk around, I say one of the things the churches can do, one of them is have... farmer's markets in your parking lot if there's no other way for people to get to fresh foods, especially inner city churches.
All the Adventists who are going to the country and growing food often can't eat all of the food.
How powerful is it if inner city, if inside New York City you're partnering with of families who live in upstate New York and bringing in fresh produce into the city so that we can give it away.
It's not enough for us to go into neighborhoods and say, listen, stop eating junk food, stop eating fast food, stop eating meat, and not have, one, a way for them to get the healthier things, and then two, show them how to prepare such foods so that they are nutritious and delicious.
And this is one of the big things that we did when I was the director and health officer for the city of Pasadena, California, we started urban farms, urban gardens.
We had one at the high school, the public high school, and it transformed lives.
I'll never forget, a little girl grew up right there in the city, and we were growing strawberries near the aquatic center.
Public health teaches us that health is not just telling people to make better choices as individuals.
What other additional factors determine whether entire communities are healthy or unhealthy?
Some now even say the social political determinants of health, but social determinants of health.
So there are studies that show the lower the number of high school graduates in a number, the higher the risk of a murder happening in that neighborhood.
Environmental things, if you've ever read Richard Rothstein's book, The Color of Law, he talks about the redlining that happened, especially against African-American, Latino communities.
We now know that that environmental change raised the risk of asthma and other diseases because of the pollutants from pollution.
And so we know that the environmental structure is very critical to how well people are going to be healthy.
When I talk around, I say one of the things the churches can do, one of them is have... farmer's markets in your parking lot if there's no other way for people to get to fresh foods, especially inner city churches.
All the Adventists who are going to the country and growing food often can't eat all of the food.
How powerful is it if inner city, if inside New York City you're partnering with of families who live in upstate New York and bringing in fresh produce into the city so that we can give it away.
It's not enough for us to go into neighborhoods and say, listen, stop eating junk food, stop eating fast food, stop eating meat, and not have, one, a way for them to get the healthier things, and then two, show them how to prepare such foods so that they are nutritious and delicious.
And this is one of the big things that we did when I was the director and health officer for the city of Pasadena, California, we started urban farms, urban gardens.
We had one at the high school, the public high school, and it transformed lives.
I'll never forget, a little girl grew up right there in the city, and we were growing strawberries near the aquatic center.
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