Forever, God is Faithful / Por siempre Dios es fiel
by Stephanie Soto
The work Forever, God is Faithful / Por siempre, Dios es fiel by local Philadelphia artist Stephanie Soto (photo, L) was selected earlier this year as the artwork for our new Wall of
Faithfulness Picture Mosaic. The Mosaic is now on display electronically in our new Kensington health center, and will soon be displayed at all three of our sites.
As Stephanie explains, she incorporated key themes of Esperanza’s history and God’s faithfulness throughout the work: “’Por siempre, Dios es fiel’ is the main message of the
painting–God’s faithfulness to Esperanza over the years. This sentence means ‘forever, God is faithful’ in Spanish. The paper cards held in each hand, the inclusion of a bird, and the
background foliage all reference the original Esperanza “Wall of Faithfulness” created by employees in 2000. Each hand also represents the diversity of ethnicities and ages found
within Esperanza’s community.”
“The Trinity is central to the painting. The middle hand, which is holding up the “Dios” card, is Jesus’ hand. He has a wound from the nail that was once hammered into his wrist. The
“Dios” card symbolizes God the Father. The dove sitting above the card represents the Holy Spirit. The center of this painting, like the center of Esperanza’s existence, focuses on God.”
“Dr. [Carolyn] Klaus, Esperanza’s founder, is also represented in the painting. After reading about Dr. Klaus’ vision and obedience to the Lord, it was important to include her in the
mural. Her hand is on the far right, holding up the card ‘fiel’ to symbolize her faithfulness in carrying out the vision of Esperanza’s early years.”
Many of our patients, staff and community members have already submitted hundreds of their own photos to contribute to our Picture Mosaic….and, you can submit your photos to the
Mosaic as well, by visiting this link (when submitting your photos, use the bypass code “EHCFamily” and select “Apply.”)
Esperanza Health Center – Year in Review
As we near the end of 2019, Esperanza Health Center’s 30th Anniversary year, we’re
pausing to reflect on God’s goodness and faithfulness to us, not only throughout this past
year but over many years of ministry.
Below are some “snapshots” from the past year at Esperanza, as we look forward to
what God will do in 2020 through Esperanza and in our North Philadelphia community.
In January, our entire staff wrote prayers
and Bible verses on the beams and walls
of all five floors of our under-construction
Kensington site, just as our staff had done
in 2011 during the construction of our
Hunting Park site.
In March, a team from Esperanza joined several hundred other attendees from across the U.S. at the 2019 Christian Community Health Fellowship conference in Cincinnati.
With a continued commitment to providing
high-quality, compassionate care that
addresses indivdiuals’ physical,
psychological, social and spiritual needs,
without regard for ability to pay or
insurance status, our care providers and
clinical and support staff members have
faithfully served nearly 15,000 patients
during 2019 at our Hunting Park,
Kensington and Fifth Street sites.
(Photo credit: Lendl Tellington/The Franklin
Institute)
During the 2019 Summer Medical Institute (SMI), teams of medical students, volunteer
faculty and Esperanza staff visited nearly 2,500 homes in Kensington. They provided
many community residents with free door-to-door health screenings and medical referrals,
and shared the love of Christ through conversation and prayer with those they met
Throughout the summer, Esperanza’s
Department of Community Health and
Wellness engaged with our community
members and many partner
organizations in some exciting new
initiatives! During July and August,
Esperanza partnered with Sunday
Suppers, Jefferson Health Design Lab
and Cornerstone Community Church
to pilot Recipe for Health, a new
family-oriented program focused on
nutrition and fitness…and fun for adults
and children!
Several “Pop-up Parks” in partnership with
the Jefferson Health Design Lab’s CoLabPHL
Project were held throughout the summer in
the Kensington neighborhood, providing free health screenings and health and wellness resources for community members.
Our Esperanza Fresh
initiative again distributed
fresh-picked produce to our
community in partnership
with America’s Grow-a-Row.
And, during the spring and fall of 2019, two cohorts of new Community Health
Promoters graduated (fall 2019 class photo, below)!
We opened our new Kensington health center site on September 30th, and celebrated
in late October with our 30 Year Partnership Benefit and Grand Opening/Ribbon Cutting
events. The morning of our grand opening, we recognized former medical assistant Gloria
Vazquez for her 25 years of service with Esperanza (below, center); with Gloria are Dr.
Bryan Hollinger, medical director, and Dr. Carolyn Klaus, Esperanza’s founding physician.
Join the Esperanza Team!
Join our team! We currently have many open positions in clinical and other departments.
To learn more and to apply, visit our Opportunities page!