By Dianne Anderson

Doctors and spiritual leaders will come together in one accord to talk about matters of the heart – something all participants agree is more than just an electrical pump in the human machine.

At its core, the physical medicinal overlaps the emotional, which is the basis of the upcoming fifth annual ABC Spirit of the Heart Community Leaders Forum.

On Thursday, November 9, the Association of Black Cardiologists invites the community to their signature event to hear pastors and medical professionals cover both sides. The reception and forum runs from 6-8:30 p.m., held at Friendship Baptist Church, located at 17145 Bastanchury RD, Yorba Linda.

Pastor Ivan Pitts said the body keeps score on unaddressed trauma, and understanding spiritual health is needed to understand physical health. Being out of balance negatively impacts the whole being.

“They are connected big time. What spirituality does is help you see how to redefine emotional trauma so you can be stronger,” said Pastor Pitts, senior pastor of Second Baptist Church in Santa Ana.

Education about taking care of the body, what to eat, and how to stay on top of both the physical and spiritual aspects of wellness is key to overall health.

“We don’t exercise, we have symptoms and we don’t recognize when our heart is in trouble. How do you give people who don’t normally hear about the heart, access to information that can save their lives?” said Pitts, one of the panelists at the forum

At their church health fair, one guest doctor described a litany of symptoms that patients must watch out for, and one man had all the signs. He asked the doctor that Saturday about his concerns, who told him to come to his office the following Monday.

“He came to see him and they immediately admitted him into surgery. This guy was going into renal failure. He could have died on Monday if he had not gone to the doctor,” said Pitts, whose church HEAAL Collective has hosted several health events.

But what he loves most about the upcoming forum is the community can be in the room with top of the line Black medical professionals.

“It’s not just information, but access to doctors that look like them, and will care for them. That’s a game changer,” he said.

ABC’s local host features Dr. Columbus Batiste, MD, aka the “Healthy Heart Doc.” Other guest panelists include Rev. Dr. Ralph Williamson of Christ Our Redeemer (COR), and Rev. Chineta Goodjoin of New Hope Presbyterian Church. Also featured are Pastor Leon Clark of New Spirit Baptist Church, Kenneth C. Curry, Jr. of Friendship Baptist Church, and Dr. Regina Chinsio-Kwong.

Dr. Shelley Henderson, event organizer, is emceeing the fifth ABC hosted event at Friendship Baptist Church. She is excited to welcome their host, Dr. Batiste, a local of Orange County, and Chief of Cardiology for Kaiser Permanente Riverside and Moreno Valley Medical Centers.

Each year, she said the forum draws a lot of national support from ABC, and many professionals recognize that the heart is more than a physical muscle. The panel will also address mental health aspects, which speaks to stress.

On the physical side, local athlete, Al Verner, retired National Football League (NFL) football player, will weigh in on whole body strength and health.

“He went to UCLA, and played on three different teams for the NFL. We thought that it would be nice for him to come and speak of body, mind and spirit,” said Henderson, a consultant for Edwards Life Sciences, which funds the local annual ABC event.

Rev. Chinetta Goodjoin, also on the forum panel, always looks forward to the ABC Spirit of the Heart event.

“Where there is unity, there is collective power. And where there is collective power, there is systemic change,” said Rev. Goodjoin of New Hope Presbyterian Church in Anaheim.

The symposium makes a big difference in the community and she hopes the community will come out to support the event.

“When clergy, churches and medical professionals come together to bring awareness of diseases that impact the Black community, we become greater advocates for health equity. Where there is knowledge, there is power,” she said.

Kyrillos Grace, second year UCI PRIME LEAD-ABC medical student scholar, plans to become a cardiologist. He is also the 2023 recipient of the Association of Black Cardiologists’ Dr. Richard Allen Williams Scholarship.

He said that understanding the physical and spiritual heart is closely connected to the heart, its four chambers and intricate vascular pathways.

“Its physical form mirrors the complexity of our spiritual essence, representing our capacity to love, empathize, and connect with others. Just as we cherish and protect the heart’s intricate structure, so too must we tend to our spiritual heart, nurturing love and kindness,” he said.

Spiritual trauma impacts the heart, but physical pain can also impact the human spirit.

After Pastor Leon Clark had surgery, he said the pain was intense, but he refused the Oxycontin narcotic the doctor suggested. Instead, he concentrated on Psalm 46.

“Sometimes you have to get to the place to be still and allow God to feed your heart, His Word and His promises,” he said. “When your heart is set on peace, it informs the physical and emotional that everything is OK. You can endure it.”

He knew the pain wouldn’t last forever, but his heart was set that he would get past the physical trauma.

“If we can get to the place and realize that it’s God who has given us the life we have, is going to deliver us not out of our struggles, but in our struggles. We settle that in our heart, mind and spirit, and it’s easier for us to make it through.”

To register for the event, see

https://bit.ly/46OVI4j