Letter from the President and CEO April 2026

Dear Reader,

Greetings as we move into April. Passover begins today, Ramadan has recently concluded, and Easter is around the corner - indeed, a season of reflection, faith, and spiritual renewal.

It is fitting, then, that we honored the wisdom of the Abrahamic traditions through the Conference on Medicine & Religion, which brought more than 300 participants to Houston last week. The conference was a resounding success by all accounts and served as an integrative container for perspectives from clinicians, faith leaders, theologians, ethicists, and other practitioners to share ideas, build connections, and inspire one another to innovate new best practices for patient care. Over 130 papers, panels, workshops, posters, and presentations were delivered.

For me, highlights included a keynote address by Dr. Peter Hotez, who summarized his remarkable efforts to bring healthcare to some of the world’s most vulnerable populations, while warning of the dangers of anti-science movements and their toxic intermingling with antisemitism. He spoke powerfully of “Science Tikkun,” a creative vision of the scientific enterprise informed by “tikkun olam,” Hebrew for “repairing the world” - a foundational Jewish concept emphasizing a human partnership with God to heal and perfect the world through social action, justice, and ethical living. Other keynotes were excellent as well, featuring Dr. Daniel Sulmasy, Imam Abdullah Antepli, and Rev. Laura Mayo. You can listen to a segment on Houston Matters featuring Dr. Mayo and me here.

Additionally, our president emeritus, Rev. Dr. John Graham, delivered a touching and insightful paper, 12 Lessons from Braeburn Street: Walking as a Prophetic Practice for Healing Burnout, in which he reflected on the meaning-making power of walking mindfully through one’s own neighborhood - cultivating spiritual insight and promoting whole-person thriving. Other Institute staff members also delivered outstanding workshops and panels, including Mojisola Delano with Beyond the Clinic Walls: Prophetic Critique and the Role of Faith Communities in Healing Diabetes Disparities, and Dr. Marianne Florian with Enhancing Patient-Centered Care Skills Using Pastoral Care Insights and Empowering Prophetic Physicians: Three Creative Calls for Medical Humanities.

Overall, we are honored to foster this community of faith-filled healers and look forward to supporting the conference in Chicago next year.

Turning to the remainder of our fiscal year, I want to emphasize that on May 19, 2026, the Institute will host The Illumination Dinner benefiting the Institute for Spirituality and Health, a special gathering that brings together community leaders, physicians, philanthropists, and friends who share a commitment to whole-person, integrative care. This year’s event will feature Dr. Sunita Puri, acclaimed physician and author of That Good Night: Life and Medicine in the Eleventh Hour, and a leading voice in the movement to bring humanity and compassion into modern medicine. We will also honor award-winning journalist Melanie Lawson with the Rabbi Samuel E. Karff Caring Heart Award in recognition of her extraordinary commitment to service and community. We would greatly appreciate your support and attendance at the event, which you can learn more about here.

Peace to you in this special time, and see you soon.

Warmly,
Stuart

Stuart C. Nelson
President & CEO
Loise Henderson Wessendorff Chair