A Guide for Talking to Your Congregation: Supporting Empathetic Congregational Conversations on COVID-19 Vaccination
Widespread vaccination is the key to ending the COVID-19 pandemic and enabling a return to normal life. The Health Fund supports vaccination as a safe and highly effective way to prevent diseases including COVID-19 but also recognizes that the decision to be vaccinated is a personal one, influenced by many factors and complicated by the difficulty of discerning truth amid fear and misinformation.
Research shows that Americans trust their own doctors and faith leaders for information about COVID-19 and vaccines. Through our dedication to health and the faith community, we developed a sermon guide and toolkit – Faith in Vaccines – to help faith leaders create an open and empathetic space to start a discussion and answer questions about the effectiveness and importance of the vaccine.
The guide and toolkit includes sermon materials, resources on how to share messages about vaccine effectiveness, resources on how to connect with medical providers to share scientific data, and actions faith leaders and congregations can take to discuss the benefits of the COVID-19 vaccines and promote vaccination.
The development of the sermon guide and toolkit was informed by regional discussions held with faith-based leaders across Kansas, along with input from several organizations and individuals who shared their expertise, research and resources as part of this project. In the event it is not possible to give a two-part sermon series on the topic, we hope congregations will still find the standalone toolkit provides helpful approaches, language, and resources to use in conversations about choosing to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. Please share this site and information with others in the faith community who may benefit from these resources, and contact us with any questions.
Downloads:
Faith in Vaccines Sermon Guide and Toolkit
Bulletin Insert 1 | Bulletin Insert 2
Faith in Vaccines Toolkit
Faith in Vaccines Social Media Toolkit
Faith in Vaccines Social Media Tiles
Resource Links:
- Changing the Covid Conversation
- Get Vaccine Answers
- Vaccinate Your Family – Questions
- Public Health Communications Collaborative
- Am. Medical Assn. Covid-19 Vaccines Guide for Physicians
- CDC Communication Toolkits
- The Language of Vaccine Acceptance cheat sheet
- Am. Academy of Pediatrics COVID-19 Vaccine for Children
- KS Chapter Am. Acad. of Pediatrics Covid-19 Resources
- KS Academy of Family Physicians Covid-19 Resources
- Immunize Kansas Coalition Resources
- Kansas Covid-19 Vaccine Equity Resources
- KS Dept. Health & Environment Vaccine Information
- KS Office of Recovery Covid-19 Resources
- KS Dept. Health & Environment Covid-19 Response Site
- Covid-19 Vaccine Finder
Additional Resources:
We’d love to hear from you! Did you use the sermon guide and/or toolkit? Would you be willing to share your feedback and experiences? Would you consider recording a brief video to share? Questions or suggestions?
Faith in Vaccines Social Media Tiles
#FaithInVaccines #HealthFund
