In the Fall of 2009 First United Methodist Church and Carroll University developed a formal partnership in that we are blessed to have senior nursing students that need to experience community nursing. We had one group in the Fall and another for the Spring semester. Each of the students come with strengths, desiring personal and professional growing edges and wanting to make a difference in the life of the church and the community.

Our past students have done clinicals with ACAP, Little Learners, working with the Health Ministries team, doing BP screenings, offering flu shots at church, developing support groups for grief and loss, writing health and wellness educational articles, working with senior needs through the XYZ team, working at the Hope Center with homelessness and poverty, working at the Hispanic Resource Center, in Behavioral Health at the hospital and doing 1:1 visitations with seniors and new moms and children.

The group coming this Fall 2010 is asking how they can make a difference and what contribution can they leave for First United Methodist Church specifically, so we are eager to listen to parishoner input as to what needs do you see and what practical experience can we give these students? They have been a huge blessing to those of us who have worked with them or met them and such a joy to have around.