May 2021 … Congratulations to the youth members of Enon Tabernacle Baptist Church, who have launched their own healthy newspaper!
“We believe being healthy is important because it can make your life better,” the journalists, ages 8 to 13, wrote in the first issue of the Enon Tabernacle Baptist Church Healthy Warrior.
The first issue features an interview with Rev. Dr. Alyn Waller, senior pastor at Enon, about what it’s been like to preach online during the pandemic and his own diagnosis with COVID-19.
“Having a healthy immune system helped me,” he told the youth. “… It’s very important to pay attention to your health and eat right, because this disease tends to hurt people who also have comorbidities, or other things that cause us to be sick. I learned to take care of myself more and how important it is to have a healthy lifestyle, even when you go into an illness.”
The issue also included an interview with Rev. Leroy Miles, the church’s associate pastor of Sanctification, as well as reporter reflections on the pandemic.
Going forward, the young journalists behind the Enon Tabernacle Baptist Church Healthy Warrior plan to report on nutrition, exercise, and mental health, and will share recipes, interviews with experts, and announcements.
“We want to teach people how to take care of their bodies the right way so when they get older, they can be strong,” said Lily, a third grader who is a parishioner and Healthy Warrior journalist.
Healthy NewsWorks, which is primarily a school-based program, began working at Enon as a pilot program during the pandemic when all lessons were conducted remotely.
“The success of this pilot has been exciting and could lead to similar partnerships with other community organizations in the future,” said Marian Uhlman, Healthy NewsWorks’ executive director.
