The Cure

How do you treat the sick?

One English town, Frome, discovered a different cure.

Since 2013, the town’s emergency room has seen a dramatic fall in admissions. People don’t come to the hospital as much anymore.

The cure came from Helen Kingston, a doctor who kept seeing overmedicated patients. They treated symptoms. She looked past the symptoms to the human beings.

She found people isolated and lonely. Once sick, they withdrew. The more they withdrew, the more alone they became. Then, their illnesses grew worse.

Kingston founded the Compassionate Frome project to address the problem. They now train “health connectors” to serve as friends to those with difficulties.

Today, the emergency room lacks the bustle of most modern medical centers.

The answer Kingston found is old and divine. People need a community to be whole.

The church exists for many reasons. One is to win the lost. Another is to care for each other. How do people who are not part of a church handle life when it caves in?

Paul’s instruction to the Romans describes the ideal tenor of a congregation,

Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. (Romans 12:9–10)

The church may not treat disease, but the community of the church gives people hope. It is a potent cure from the hand of God.