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Local churches ‘walk to Jerusalem’ in fitness program
By Emily Elders
It’s 6,313 miles from Sylva to Jerusalem, but that hasn’t stopped eight local churches from trying to go the distance anyway.
Though they may not be able to walk across water and desert to get there, the eight downtown churches are counting down the miles and going there in spirit.
First United Methodist, Sylva First Baptist, LifeWay Community, Sylva Church of Christ, St. Mary’s Catholic, First Presbyterian, God’s Holy Tabernacle and Liberty Baptist have all formed walking teams as part of the Jackson County Department of Public Health-sponsored “Walking to Jerusalem” program.
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First United Methodist Church team leaders Lorraine Arnold, third from left, and Jon Brown, second from right, chart their progress in the Health Department-sponsored “Walking to Jerusalem” fitness education program. They are joined by, from left, Jimmi Buell, who coordinates the project for the Jackson County Department of Public Health; Shirley Kool, First Baptist team leader; and David Cathcart, First Presbyterian team leader. A total of eight churches, all located in and around downtown Sylva, are participating in the program, which Buell said is an effort to bring awareness and education about physical fitness to families and to build fellowship among different denominations. Each church’s team keeps track of their mileage in an effort to reach the 6,313 miles it would take to walk from Sylva to Jerusalem. For more information on the fitness initiative, call Buell at 586-8994. – Herald photo by Emily Elders
In place since October, the program is funded by a grant from Blue Cross/Blue Shield’s “FitTogether” initiative. The church teams not only track their progress and compare mileage but also take advantage of opportunities for health and fitness education.
“It all started when we were doing a lot of work with kids in schools,” said Jimmi Buell, who is the Health Department’s advisor on the project. “We realized that we could only teach kids so much about being healthy in schools, and that some of that had to happen at home. We needed a way to reach their parents and families, too.”
When the grant funding became available, a project that would encourage walking and promote community health awareness seemed a perfect fit for Sylva, according to Buell.
“I had already mapped out a 2-mile loop downtown on my own,” said Buell. “When we realized there were seven or eight churches along that route, it really seemed like a good idea.”
She said that the accessibility of the non-profit program, which doesn’t involve extremely strenuous activity or extensive cost, is a major reason it’s been so successful thus far.
“Everyone can walk,” she said. “It doesn’t require any special equipment or clothing, and everyone can go at their own pace.”
The number of walkers per team varies from church to church, but each member’s mileage counts towards a common goal. Walkers report to a health team leader at each church who is responsible for coordinating their program. After undergoing health screenings for blood pressure, cholesterol and other factors and receiving a pedometer provided by the health department, walkers record their mileage in a log kept at the church. Miles can be recorded individually or when walking with team members. Each month the miles are counted and added to the overall grand total. Health team leaders track their team’s progress by charting it on a map of the world provided by the Health Department.
Teams range in size from First United Methodist Church’s more than 80 members to smaller groups at Liberty Baptist and God’s Holy Tabernacle, which have only a handful of members each. Each church hopes to reach the full 6,313 mile goal.
Shirley Kool, team leader for Sylva First Baptist, says her church is determined to reach their goal.
“We intend to get all the way there – and all the way back,” she said.
Nonetheless, Buell says the important part is not how many miles are walked or by whom, but that the teams are learning more about physical fitness, nutrition and wellness.
To this end, the churches alternate hosting monthly dinner meetings at which they learn about nutrition, exercise, family activities and other health-related issues. These meetings are co-conducted by the Health Department and the Cooperative Extension Service, and anyone interested, whether members of the teams or not, is welcome to attend.
“That’s a good way for us to get everyone together, and to teach as many as possible,” said Buell. “That part is what really builds fellowship among both the different churches and the community.”
The group also creates a monthly newsletter that highlights recent milestones and spotlights the month’s host church. These are mailed to team members and their churches.
David Cathcart, team leader of First Presybterian Church’s 16-member team, says there are other benefits as well.
“Some of our participants have started deciding to walk instead of drive, to church and other places,” he said. “Making the decision to walk where otherwise they might not have is a good part of this whole program.”
When the program began, members kicked it off with a gospel singing and other activities. They will hold another event in March to mark what will hopefully be their halfway point – roughly 3,156 miles.
Each program, according to Buell, is designed to last about a year, and the grant will fund the initiative through three year-long cycles.
“We’re definitely going to continue doing this, and we’d like to keep this same idea together,” said Buell. “We just want to keep bringing people in to the program.”
Buell said her group hopes to target town employees during the second year, and to pull team members from county employees during the third year. The church members, however, still want to be involved.
“We definitely want to continue,” said Lorraine Arnold, co-leader of First United Methodist Church’s team. “The only downside of the whole thing is that there’s so much enthusiasm we just can’t get everybody involved this time around.”
Arnold’s co-leader, Jon Brown, agrees.
“It’s great to see people being more intentional about physical fitness,” he said. “People are starting to figure it out for themselves, and to plan out how they’re going to be active that day.”
Buell is satisfied with the amount of support that both her program and other walking initiatives are recieving from the community.
“There’s a lot of community effort right now to encourage walking, especially with the Bridge Park Project and the Greenway coming in,” she said. “There are a lot of people working together to promote physical activities like this.”
The program promotes a sense of connection among different denominations in the faith community, which Buell says is an important goal for Sylva residents.
“It gives us all a shared purpose,” she said. “We’re all going to walk until we get there.”
The group’s next meeting will be held at 6:30 Monday, Jan. 29, at Sylva First Baptist Church. For more information, call Buell at the Health Department at 586-8994.
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