faith based forums

[IslandDreamer]

I'm curious what other women think of a faith based forum. There could be a thread for specific religions, or even denominations, but the idea would be to seek encouragement and prayer from folks who share the same faith. These posts could be a place for quoting scriptures from different religions, sharing doctrine and faith community response to HG, etc.

I'm particularly concerned about Christian Scientists who have HG and do not have the option of medicating in many cases. . .this sort of group prayer forum could be their medicine.

[emily]

I personally would rather not see a forum such as this on here.

[IslandDreamer]

Hi Emily,

While I don't share your concern, I certainly accept your position. For me, these forums are as much educational settings as research and support environments. It is this educational function that makes me want a faith based forum added to the site.

Perhaps there is no need for such a place on the site; perhaps there is. I can't really say. I only have my own experience in the classroom and have found that faith (for Atheists as much as Fundamentalists of any religion) often cannot be separated from daily life and daily decisions.

The main reason I suggest this forum is that some women may have, or have stated, faith based questions about specific treatments. One discussion already posted on this site expresses concern about the nature/origin/purpose of acupunture. It is known that acupuncture can be a successful treatment for hg, but at least a few women had questions about whether that treatment is consistent with their faith structure. Another example that comes to mind: Hindu women may need to research and share data about animal research and bovine based drugs that may be inconsistent with their faith. This is the sort of discussion I'd like to see fostered, particularly in a global environment like the Internet: the creation of a forum that allows ethical and spiritual analysis of medications and treatments for hg.

[mandy]

Hi all,

I don't like the sound of this either. I feel that we all have the common thread of hg, and shouldn't make different forums according to backgrounds, beliefs etc. The wonderful thing about this site is that anyone can visit it and feel welcome and not judged (that's how I feel anyway). It would then become a bit segmented to me. The questions put forward by women asking for opinions from other Christians etc seem to have found support and replies from others. Isn't that effective and enough?

[jjbeck]

I dont know if having a forum specific to religion is such a good idea however, being that I strongly believe in the power of prayer, I dont see anything wrong with beginning a topic in one of the other forums such as alternative meds or treatments. After my 1st HG pg I suffered severe depression and as a result suffered spiritually...I found help at an online catholic site...and I am not even catholic. If anyone needs my help in offering a prayer....I would be more than willing to help no matter what their religion.

[HdGAMom2B]

In my opinion, I think that forum topic is long overdue. As a Born-Again Christian, who suffered with HG in my first pg, I see first hand how faith can impact your decisions, and how that common ground support system is critical in your daily existence with this disease.

I have mentioned many itmes in my posts that I am praying, believing, that God can heal me, that God can deliver me from HG, and that I am trusting, and praying for God's intervention this pregnancy. Last time, I took matters into my own hands, and I was left empty, hurting, and alone. THis time around, I feel great, I pray regularly, and I'm reading the Bible. I can't imagine it any other way.

I'd personally LOVE to have that forum topic started. I know that there are Christians on this site, and I think it would be very valuable to them to have that spiritual guidance, enoucragementa nd the perspective that faith can make this process much better. If one needs peace, then we should provide that for them.

I think it should be included. Thanks for listening.

Christy

[Ivydragon]

I will not be including a forum on religion.

I myself am LDS and Christian and believe in the power of prayer, but I purposefully choose not to use that as a forefront of my persona here because it is so important that women are not judged, and I would never want anyone to presume I was judgemental because of my strong religious beliefs because I am taught not to judge by my very own religion.

This set of forums is already so large that women do not know what forums actually exsist here and some are not regularly used. I feel it is already too big to then include a forum for every type of religion there is, let alone different takes on Christianity. There just is not enough room to incompass such a request.

There is also a vast variety of places that these types of topics could be posted. For example, should a woman practicing Hinduism need help in researching medicines for ingredients she could post her request in research and I know that she would receive help from those who greatly enjoy researching new topics regardless of personal religious practices. Those who are interested in prayer as a way of strength and healing can post it in alternative treatments.

I can acknowledge the need for a close knit group of women who share a common belief and want to share scripture and verse, but it will not be here. I fear that those who are not Christian would be greatly offended by what could be construed as a favoratism for an active Christian forum. Most forum participants are from the U.S. and have beliefs in God, but why we are here is because of our common link of HG, and regardless of ethnicity, creed, income level, marital status, past terminations, and medical choices women who have HG or need help supporting those who have HG must feel like they will be accepted for who they are by all of us and I cannot run the risk of showing any type of preference. It is my personal recommendation that one of you who strongly desire a Christian HG support group begin one on Yahoo. It can be specifically for women who want to be part of a prayer group, etc. and can be set to personal preferences according to each member. You can post the link for requests to join in the Alternative Medicine forum or as an invitation to other HGers who are obviously Christian and express interest and strong belief in prayer. This way it could be an obtainable option w/o offense.

Andy

[justme]

There is actually an operating prayer group that was organized earlier this year (Suzanne just bumped the thread in the Life forum).
http://forums.helpher.org/viewtopic.php ... c1c2749826

I try to send out weekly e-mail lists of all of our prayer needs. But have been a little lax these past couple of weeks due to my own grief/holiday issues.

That being said, I am a deeply religious person and have never found that I have a problem in anyway with expressing myself, my faith, in any of the forums. It is impossible for me to separate it from who I am. I don't feel the need to have a separate forum, because I have never felt anything but love and acceptance in any of the forums. Plus, for those of us of faith, it is often a fundamental part of who we are, thus we can't and don't want to separate it.

I am very thankful for the love and support that I have found in these forums, and that opportunity to give it back.