March 2021 | Issue 2 | Page 6
Rev . Gloria White-Hammond , M . D .: An Extraordinary Keynote by an Extraordinary Person by : Ronit Elk , PhD
For those of you who didn ’ t get to hear Dr . Gloria White- Hammond ’ s stirring keynote presentation , let me tell you a bit about this very special person and about her lecture .
Who is Rev . Gloria White-Hammond , M . D .? Rev . Gloria White-Hammond Co-Pastor of the Bethel AME Church in Boston , MA , graduating from Harvard Divinity School in 1997 . Together with her husband , Rev . Ray A . Hammond , they minister to their 500-member congregation . As director of the Women ’ s Ministry , she is passionate about equipping women to become leaders in their church , their communities and beyond , and has launched the Significant Women Discipleship Ministry that coaches women in leadership skills . For most of us , all of this would be an incredible accomplishment , but Dr . White-Hammond is not like most of us .
She is also a physician ; She graduated from Tufts University School of Medicine in 1976 and served as a pediatrician for over 20 years to children and adolescents in some of Boston ’ s most challenged communities . Not satisfied to only provide medical care , she formed a program , “ Do The Write Thing ” that helped hundreds of very vulnerable young adolescent girls . As a person truly committed to helping others , despite the dangers , in 2001 Dr . White-Hammond traveled to Sudan during their civil war . For two years she participated in in an “ underground railroad ” to help free more than 10,000 enslaved Sudanese in northern part of the country . Based on this experience , she and five other women founded a humanitarian and human rights organization , My Sister ’ s Keeper ( www . mskeeper . org ) that champions social justice for women and girls in countries with war and conflict .
Due to her expertise , experience and wisdom as both a physician and as a pastor , Dr . White-Hammond has become a national leader in incorporating spirituality into medicine . She was appointed Swartz Resident Practitioner in Ministry Studies at Harvard Divinity School where she helps students explore the intersection of medicine and spirituality , and also co-directs the Harvard Medical School and Divinity School course , “ Medicine and Spirituality in Healing .” It is this expertise and wisdom that she shared with us in her keynote presentation . How fortunate we are that she shared her time and wisdom with us .
Quotes from Summit Attendees
“ T h e U A B V i r t u a l S u m m i t c o n f e r e n c e w a s a w o n d e r f u l e x p e r i e n c e . ”
What Was the Focus of Dr . Gloria White-Hammond ’ s Keynote Presentation ? In her talk , entitled “ God is Able : The Significance of a Belief In Miracles for African American Patients with Serious Illness ”, Dr . White- Hammond helped the audience understand the importance of spirituality and religion in the African American community . Eighty three percent ( 83 %) of African Americans have a very strong belief in God and
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