When Rev. Traci Blackmon was a minister in Columbia, Missouri, a woman in her congregation dangerously misinterpreted one of her sermons. The woman, who had a history of schizophrenia, heard her preach about “divine healing” and took that to mean she needed to get off her medication and allow God to heal her. She landed in the hospital after a psychotic episode.
“It was a wake-up call for me,” said Blackmon, now pastor of Christ the King United Church of Christ in Florissant. “I realized the responsibility I have to dispel some of those myths and take the guilt out of the people who see being healed by medical resources as a lack of faith.”
The incident led to an educational campaign in that congregation. It also urged her to more thoroughly blend her nursing and ministry backgrounds.
“Having a background in both has given me a glimpse into a ministry that can be holistic,” she said.
As a licensed registered nurse with more than 25 years experience in health care, Blackmon is the coordinator of faith-based initiatives for BJC HealthCare. There she develops programming for Healthy Mind-Body-Spirit, a faith-based initiative designed to provide advocacy, education and basic health screenings to medically underserved communities in the St. Louis region. She also sits on the advisory board of the Behavioral Health Network, which addresses mental health needs of underserved communities.
On April 30, Blackmon will receive the Stellar Performer in Health Care award at the St. Louis American Foundation’s 15th Annual Salute to Excellence in Health Care Awards Luncheon at the Frontenac Hilton.
Blackmon obtained a bachelor of science degree in nursing from Birmingham-Southern College (1985) and a master of divinity degree (2009) from Eden Theological Seminary.
Blackmon currently serves as the 18th installed and first woman pastor in the 156-year history of Christ the King United Church of Christ. She has been a front-line pastor at countless protests in Ferguson and the St. Louis County seat of Clayton. She sees a health component to her work with the protestors who oppose police violence.
“Violence also impacts the quality of life and the longevity of life,” Blackmon said. “And as such, we cannot just look it as a problem of the justice system.”
People who live in areas of high stress and violence are impacted mentally and physically, she said. High violence also tends to overlap with high poverty. Many children in the Ferguson area have had trouble sleeping and focusing on their schoolwork since August 9, when Michael Brown Jr. was shot and killed by then-officer Darren Wilson.
Her work in Ferguson led to her appointment to the Ferguson Commission by Gov. Jay Nixon. Her work on the Ferguson Commission has earned her national attention, including from the White House.
Yet she remains deeply involved in many impactful initiatives that aren’t in the limelight. She is an organizing leader for the Magdalene House, which is a new transitional and empowerment program to help women move out of sex work and off the streets.
Blackmon said that their overall message is, “There is no depth that humans can sink that radical love can’t rescue you.”
In her work with BJC, Blackmon partners with churches and arranges times for their mobile-health vehicle to provide screenings for uninsured church members once a month. They also visit certain grocery stores monthly as well. The screenings include blood pressure, diabetes and cholesterol. The nurses also act as health “coaches and partners” to help the people improve their daily eating and exercise practices, Blackmon said.
Blackmon’s knowledge as a pastor and nurse has made BJC’s program truly come to life, said June Fowler, BJC senior vice president of corporate and public communications.
“She has helped us to understand that we not only need to focus on screenings and healthy eating, but also on the mental and emotional health component as well,” she said.
She has incorporated cutting-edge services, such as holding seminars on suicide among African-American men and other topics that don’t typically get discussed, Fowler said.
“There are lots of people who consider things like depression to be spiritual, which in fact, depression is a medical illness,” Blackmon said. “It’s often attributed to demonic spirits or some type of condition that you might be able to pray away.”
Fowler said her colleagues at BJC are proud of the work Blackmon is doing in the Ferguson community and with the Ferguson Commission, which Gov. Nixon established to gain recommendations on how to address issues of disenfranchisement that led to Brown’s death.
“She is able to speak with care and with authenticity about, not only the responsibility of the power structure, but also for the responsibilities that individuals have,” Fowler said. “She has an unique voice that we are fortunate to have not only at BJC but in our broader community.”
Tickets for the 15th Annual Salute to Excellence in Health Care Awards Luncheon on Thursday, April 30 at the Frontenac Hilton are $750 per table for VIP/Corporate seating and $50 each/$500 table for Individual seating. To order tickets, call 314-533-8000 or visit www.stlamerican.com.
