The healthy church is a welcoming church, said the Rev. Dr. Jermaine McKinley, as she showed a visitor a wall of photographs of churches big and small that offer exercise classes, cooking demonstrations and health screenings to keep worshippers in top shape.

And, she continued, the healthy church must look at the needs of the community and respond to them.

To do so, the Metro-Urban Institute at the Pittsburgh Theological Seminary is holding "One Faith, One Community, One Healthy Body." It is a daylong workshop on April 28 that calls upon the institute's network of urban congregations -- there are about 60 of them -- to address the health needs of the city.

The workshop is co-sponsored by the Pittsburgh Urban League and the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health's Center for Minority Health, which is in the midst of National Minority Health Month.

All of the groups have been involved in addressing urban issues of health disparities. All agree that, in America, almost no place is as sick as the inner city, which is buffeted by generational poverty, chronic diseases and violence.

The stress and lack of access to health services take their toll on blacks.

Some statistics:

In Allegheny County during the 1990s, three times as many black women between the ages of 44 and 54 and black men between the ages of 35 and 44 died of heart disease than white men and women in those age ranges.

Three times as many black men ages 65 to 74 died of prostate cancer than white men in the same age group.

The diabetes death rates for black women and men were about twice the rates for white people.

Black children are three times more likely to be hospitalized for asthma than white children, usually because of allergens carried by rodents and roaches that can thrive in densely populated, poorer communities.

Infant mortality, often a predictor of a community's health, is twice as high in Allegheny County's black population as in national rates.

"One Faith, One Community, One Healthy Body" is designed to help teens, their parents and others live well.

The health awareness day is part of a growing movement in black churches that aims to strengthen the body as well as the soul through health ministries.

After all, said the Rev. McKinley, "if you are healthy, you can better serve the Lord." And, being healthy is what Jesus would have wanted.

The idea for the workshops is predicated on the seven miracles of health performed by Jesus, among them: He gave sight to the blind; he healed a youth of convulsions; he made the paralyzed to walk and he cleansed a man of leprosy.

The application of these scripture has meant the churches have always taken care of their communities. Housing ministries, food pantries and clothing gifts are part of a long, proud tradition.

But, said the Rev. McKinley, we realized healing begins with the spirit, so it was natural for churches to begin health ministries, too.

In recent years, helping moms with day care, saving babies, teaching congregations to eat low-fat meals and launching aerobics classes are all efforts black churches are taking up.

They are also holding health fairs and screenings for diabetes and high blood pressure.

The day begins at 7:45 a.m. with a prayer breakfast and runs until noon.

The session will be mix of prayer, discussions and health information.

"It is important to teach about the transmission and prevalence of these diseases," the Rev. McKinley said, "education can bring change."

For teens, there will be sessions on teen pregnancy, infant mortality, sexually transmitted diseases, heart disease, diabetes.

There will also be screenings for hearing, prostrate disease and blood pressure checks.

At closing, there will be a town hall meeting with community leaders discussing the role that education, social services and community safety play in creating a healthy neighborhood.

The free workshops take place at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, 616 N. Highland Ave., Highland Park. Registration is required for meal count. Please call, 412-441-3304 ext. 2228. Or register online at www.mui-pts.org/registration.

On Sunday, April 29, Teen Walk the Talk will allow young people and others from the Faith Community to participate in the March of Dimes, Walk America.