The Diocese of Chalan Kanoa is launching a new Health Ministry with a 5K Walkathon on Saturday, January 22, 2018. The First Annual Health Ministry 5K Walkathon will be held at the parking lot of Kristo Rai Parish in Garapan. Registration will begin at 6:00 AM and go-time will be at 7:00 AM. This new ministry is part the implementation of the new Diocesan Pastoral Plan.
Health issues are always one of the major concerns of our island community and therefore it is also one of the issues which the Diocese of Chalan Kanoa must be involve with. After all, one of the important mission of the clergy in the parishes is the ministry to the sick in the hospital and in the homes. However, the diocese believes that ministry to the sick must also include prevention and therefore, it means to be pro-active in raising awareness to a healthy lifestyle.
Food is very much part of the religious culture of the Northern Marianas as it is anywhere in the Pacific regions. Parish fiestas, Funerals and finakpo, are few of the important gatherings of families in every parish and village which is centered on large and abundant foods and local delicacies. In itself, this is good but any excess coupled by the lack of awareness of healthy and active lifestyle can lead to serious health complications which now besets many of our parishioners.
The leading cause of death in CNMI are mainly non-communicable diseases, such as circulatory diseases, cancers or metabolic diseases. Circulatory diseases include hypertension, which is one of the most common and is also the leading cause of death nationwide. Other circulatory diseases include atherosclerosis, a condition in which fatty deposits in arteries harden. If left untreated, atherosclerosis constricts blood flow and oxygen to the affected areas, leading to heart attacks and strokes. One of the most common metabolic disease is diabetes.
Bishop Ryan, who is himself a personal and active believer of a healthy and active lifestyle wanted to include Health Ministry in the new Diocesan Pastoral Plan, under the Commission on Marriage and Family Life. Two years ago, he sent Ms. Glorybel O. Tan and Sr. Nina Caccam, SJBP, to a health conference at Loyola University in Chicago having in mind starting the same ministry in the diocese.
The proposed route for the Walkathon is from Kristo Rai Parish parking lot until Quartermaster Road and back. Free Registration will begin at 6:00 AM and go-time is at 7:00 AM. Everyone is invited to participate. Walkathon shirts will be given for free on a first-come basis.
