Roadmap to Restoration: New Bethel’s 2nd Annual Health Symposium Empowers Sarasota

Ed James III

The fellowship hall of New Bethel Missionary Baptist Church was filled to capacity this past Saturday, reaching a standing-roomonly crowd for a vital cause: the pursuit of community-wide health restoration. The Senior Mission Ministry’s 2nd Annual Health Symposium blended spiritual fellowship with highlevel medical expertise to tackle the unique health challenges facing Sarasota today.

The program, emceed by Helen James, began with a warm welcome from Sheila Sanders, setting a tone of hospitality and hope. The atmosphere was further uplifted by a moving solo performance by Rosalyn Gary, while Ed James III managed the event’s technology as the I.T. Specialist, ensuring the complex presentations reached the captivated audience seamlessly.

The symposium featured a multidisciplinary panel of experts who bridged the gap between clinical data and daily life:

• Dr. Washington Hill, the 87-year-old founding director of the High Risk Pregnancy Program at Sarasota Memorial Hospital and Board Chair of the Sarasota African American Cultural Coalition, shared wisdom from his 55-year career. His presentation focused on the beauty and necessity of aging healthy and gracefully.

• Dr. Coeurliada Louis Ashby, a Yale-trained, board-certified Lifestyle Medicine physician, provided a powerful pre-recorded presentation. She focused on reversing chronic disease through food, emphasizing the need to break generational cycles of poor eating habits within communities of color.

• Dr. Vida Farhangi, Medical Director at the Sarasota Memorial Hospital Internal Medicine Program in Newtown, brought over 30 years of clinical experience to the floor. Her session provided critical insights into cardiovascular disease prevention.

• Natalie Lampkin, Founder and Executive Director of Creative Counseling Solutions of Sarasota Inc., addressed the often-stigmatized topic of mental healthcare. Her presentation sparked deep reflection when she shared alarming suicide rates among Black youth, championing the mantra that “everyone needs a check-up from the neck up.”

• Allan McKisson, a dedicated volunteer for the American Cancer Society, rounded out the sessions by highlighting the vast resources available for cancer patients and families, focusing on increasing local outreach and education.

The event was as interactive as it was educational. Julia McIntosh and Helen James engaged the crowd by raffling off various gifts provided by the Senior Mission Ministry. The community spirit extended to the lunch hour, supported by local sponsors including the Newtown branch of BayFirst Bank.

“To have this level of expertise right here in our fellowship hall is a blessing,”

noted one attendee. By the close of the symposium, the message was clear: through education, local support, and a commitment to “checking up from the neck up,” the path to restoration is open to all. Organized with precision by the Senior Mission Ministry, the event solidified New Bethel’s role as a cornerstone of both spiritual and physical wellness in Sarasota.