During the months of March and April of this year the Eugene Leland Memorial Hospital, Riverdale, Maryland, presented a series of lectures each Sunday evening for six weeks. These meetings were held in the gymnasium on the campus of the University of Maryland in College Park. The purpose of these meetings was a dual and coordinated presentation of the health and religious aspects of our message.
Early this past winter Dr. L. W. MalM conceived the idea of holding a series of meetings for the people of the community and for our patients. He was wholeheartedly joined in this idea by the doctors of the Malin Medical Group and workers of the Eugene Leland Memorial Hospital. Religious meetings had previously been tried in this community without much success. Whether this failure was due to prejudice or lack of interest in religious matters, we do not know. The group felt that a series of meetings in which health instruction and religious guidance were combined would be effective, and that the two together would be better accepted and more widely attended than the previous meetings. The Spirit of prophecy plainly states that the health message is the right arm of the gospel. Centuries ago this principle was exemplified by Jesus Christ in His combined teaching and healing among men.
We called these meetings the Life and Health Series. The first twenty minutes were given to a doctor, and the last thirty minutes to a minister, with a moderator harmoniously connecting the two subjects. This allowed the people to follow the purpose of the meetings—the relationship of the mind and body. When this relationship is skillfully established, the audience can easily grasp the importance of Christian faith in everyday living. We used such subjects as "The Fear of Cancer" and "The Cancer of Fear," "Heart Disease" and "Healing Broken Hearts," "Nervous Disorders" and "Your Peace of Mind."
The first meetings dealt with nothing controversial religiously but sought rather to bring the people to Christ. Later we presented "The Ten Commandments of Health" and cited the example of Daniel 1, which gave the minister an opening for Daniel 2. Obviously, the possibilities of a combination like this are endless.
We advertised the meetings by sending a personal letter to each of our patients. We also employed the usual methods of window cards and newspaper announcements. At our first meeting there were a few more than six hundred present, which we felt was a good response for the community. We had a good interest throughout all our series, although the attendance dropped off some with each meeting. I believe that the interest could have been even better had we followed our original blueprint more closely. But we gained valuable experience and information from this series of meetings, and greater success could be attained in the future by utilizing this information.
As a follow-up, a class was offered in medical instruction to be held at the hospital one night a week. Twenty-five enrolled in this class as a result of this series of six meetings. I believe it is quite obvious to everyone that a procedure of this type is one of very definite value and one which could be worked out skillfully and presented with a resultant good harvest.
A few observations may be in order, to conduct a series of this type effectively. The length of time given each speaker must be strictly adhered to. This was one of our mistakes. The doctor and the minister both should be held rigidly to their allotted time in order to keep the focal point of interest high, for the attention of the audience can be held only so long.
Second, I believe more stress should be laid on harmonizing the two talks according to the plan previously mentioned. We had four different religious speakers for the six meetings, and it would probably have been better if we had had just one. This point, I am sure, is open to question and debate ; but it is my opinion, at least, that it would have been better to have the same minister for all six meetings. On some of the subjects in medicine, I believe a panel of doctors taking part in the discussion would be more interesting than having just one doctor present it. Also, a good public-address system should be used, because many of us doctors are not heard too well without one.
Everyone is interested in health, the most important earthly blessing that anyone can possess. With health instruction for better living as a drawing card, many will come to a religious service. The union of health and religion is a stronger combination than may at first appear. Today psychosomatic medicine is becoming paramount—psyche, the mind; soma, the body. The effect of the mind on the body is now generally recognized and accepted; likewise, a sick body affects the mind. Health is dependent upon a well-balanced and well-integrated life, free from fear and remorse, hate and hostility—one that affords peace of mind and freedom from the pangs of a guilty conscience. We know that the best formula for a healthy mental attitude is found in the sermon on the mount, and in the philosophy of "Love the I ord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself."
In this philosophy there is a faith and a trust in a divine power. which is necessary to see us through life's complex problems. Also in this philosophy one loses the feelings of hate and hostility which the medical profession now believes are the fundamental causes of many of the psychoneuroses and organic diseases, such as high blood pressure and peptic ulcers. With these accepted facts and principles it is easy to present religion as a tangible and fundamental necessity in every life and everyday living.
