Hosting Healthcare in Marshalltown

A few months ago, First Presbyterian Church was approached by Proteus, a non-profit from Des Moines. Proteus’ mission is to provide “agricultural workers and their families with affordable health care, education assistance, and job training.” The connection to Marshalltown is apparent with the presence of many agricultural workers in our area, but Proteus also works with meat packers, which is a significant population here as well. 

Our part of this work is simply to provide a space for Proteus. Essentially, they will host a clinic in the church or Gathering Place from 2-8pm where they provide primary health care visits and assist patients with low-cost medications one or two evenings a month. This request came to our Missions and Evangelism (M&E) Committee and we considered it carefully. As a committee, we recognize the importance of caring for whole people – spiritually, emotionally, and physically.

When we look at the way Jesus ministered to people, he didn’t just teach them, he also healed people and called them to care for one another’s physical needs. While Proteus is not a Christian organization, we can recognize the common grace at work in their efforts to care for farm workers and meat packers.

Therefore, M&E Committee recommended this partnership to the Session and Session approved Proteus’ use of a space in the Gathering Place for their affordable health clinics. If you would like to learn more about Proteus or the clinics you can find more information here. If you have any questions about the process of making decisions about partnering with outside organizations or about this partnership with Proteus, feel free to talk to Pastor Bryan or Pastor LaCosta or a member of the Missions and Evangelism Committee.