Shining a Light: The 2025 Hope and Health Conference at Gordon College

“Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity,” Rev. Dr. Gloria White-Hammond told the audience gathered for the third annual Hope and Health Conference hosted by Gordon College’s Graduate Public Health Program. 

Speakers and attendees at the conference represented organizations from a variety of sectors, including churches, universities, nonprofits and city health departments. They were all unified by the same desire: to build partnerships and networks to improve their ability to serve and love communities, particularly those who are vulnerable and overlooked.

Impact Through Community Collaboration 

Rev. Dr. Gloria-Hammond gives the keynote speech at the Hope and Healing Conference 2025.

Due to recent shifts in the field of public health, White-Hammond, the co-pastor of Bethel AME Church in Boston and the founder and executive director of My Sister’s Keeper, a women-led humanitarian and human rights initiative, emphasized the importance of partnerships between organizations. “Given all the challenges that we're going to be facing, the only way forward is by doing this in the context of collaboration,” she said. 

Throughout the conference speakers shared about their work in public health and the role of collaborative efforts to impact their communities. Two panels offered perspectives on the impact of the current administration on public health, one with speakers from local organizations and one with speakers from global organizations.  

Rebecca Williams from Dartmouth Hitchcock presented about women’s postnatal care and breastfeeding, and Benjamin Aisya spoke about the work of Kyampisi Childcare Ministry, an organization serving child victims of ritualistic abuse and trauma. Gabriella Snyder Stelmack talked about the work of Bread of Life, a faith-based food security organization that provided 1.3 million pounds of food to local communities last year.  

The diversity of these and the other participating organizations highlighted different aspects of public health, all of which help communities thrive. “God set us up to get his best work done in the context of collaboration,” Rev. White-Hammond said. 

Health for the Vulnerable 

Attendees listen to a breakout session at the Hope and Healing Conference.

Many of the organizations represented at the conference focus specifically on vulnerable populations: families living below the poverty line, women and children. Rachel Angerhofer from RESPOND, an organization committed to ending domestic violence, talked about how her Christian perspective drives her to serve the vulnerable. “Being able to respond to folks in a way that really sees them as individuals, treating everybody with dignity and respect and recognizing their inherent worthiness of support and care really is aligned with my values as a person of faith,” she said. 

David Jennings, parent of a Gordon student and founder of New Life Community Center, spoke about the way his clinic aims to serve those without access to healthcare by opening a drop-in clinic, presenting community health fairs and offering health education and screenings, all with a focus on immigrants, the homeless, women and individuals without health insurance. 

“When you're homeless or poor or undocumented or disadvantaged, people push by you; they don't give you time, dignity or respect. We want to create an environment, especially in our very diverse community, where people recognize that we respect them and their beliefs and where they've come from, and that we want to love them,” Jennings said. 

Integrating Faith and Public Health 

Much of the conversation at the conference centered on how and when to integrate sharing faith while serving communities. At Bread of Life, Stelmack shared how treating each person with love and respecting the needs of the individual is the way they minister. “We want anybody to be able to come and eat. Sharing Jesus and the Word of God doesn't have to be a program. It's your boots on the ground, loving people,” she said.  

Rev. Dr. Michael David Bailey ’06 ended the conference with a call to not only address the symptoms of public health crises, but to also address one of the most important things: the soul. The work of Christians in public health, he urged, is to serve people by providing holistic care. “We must recognize [that] when you are loving God and loving his people, you're sharing Christ, and you're making disciples. You are trying to heal the soul,” he said. 

Pursue Public Health 

Inspired by the stories of these organizations? Interested in serving the local or global community through public health or deepening your understanding of public health work? Consider joining Gordon College’s Master of Public Health program. There’s still time to enroll in our fall 2025 cohort!