Gathering for Prayer

By Christina Keresoma

Prayer may feel like you’re talking to nothing or no one. But God always listens. He may not answer you right away or with what your heart desires, but He always provides an answer.

We are blessed to live in a country where we can openly pray and enjoy religious freedoms. A special day—the first Thursday in May—has even been dedicated to prayer called The National Day of Prayer. As a faith-based institution, the chaplains at Kettering Health rise to the occasion to organize special prayer activities around their campuses. One campus made special prayer boxes and cards that were placed around the hospital. Another gathered groups of employees to walk and pray with other employees and patients. And some other hospitals arranged short programs where they sang songs, gave special prayers, and handed out awards to outstanding individuals.

In Steps to Christ, Ellen G. White says, “Prayer is the opening of the heart to God as to a friend. Not that it is necessary in order to make known to God what we are, but in order to enable us to receive Him. Prayer does not bring God down to us, but brings us up to Him” (p. 93).

Stefano Paris, chaplain at Soin Medical Center says: “As a pastor for 27 years and now a chaplain for eight months, I have had the opportunity to reflect on the deep meaning of prayer in the hospital setting. ‘Never cease to pray’ is the recommendation that comes to us from the apostle Paul. Prayer, in general, is as important and essential as rain falling on barren ground. In the hospital, prayer includes everyone. It supports the doctors who need to feel God close in their daily work; it encourages the weary nurses tested by exhausting shifts; and it comforts the sick or even the dying person who seeks relief from pain, healing, or forgiveness. Prayer welcomes the poor and the rich, the learned and the ignorant, and like the prayer of the thief on the cross, assures that salvation is for all.”

It is our belief that to best serve our communities we need our Heavenly Father’s guidance, and we will continually seek it through prayer.

Kettering Health Joins the Fun

We recently joined the rookies from the Cincinnati Bengals to play flag football and run football drills with students from Hays-Porter Elementary School in Cincinnati, Ohio.

The Flag-In-School program donates NFL flag kits to physical education classes in Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana to help local PE teachers build a foundation of healthy, lifelong physical activity for students.

We were so happy to support this initiative for the 2023-24 school year so that 100 new schools across Bengals Nation could receive free flag football kits. Who Dey!

Volunteers Called to Serve

During National Volunteers

Week, April 21–27, we honored volunteers across our entire system who give their time and talents to help us be our best every day.

In 2022, we had 1,155 volunteers donate 142,048 hours to our system, medical centers, physician offices, and retirement community. And 13 of those volunteers were more than 90 years old!

The volunteers serve in many important roles, including stocking and preparing rooms, driving the courtesy shuttles, folding linens, discharging patients, helping at the information desk or assembling kits for patients to take home—just to name a few.