Colossians 3:12-16; John 7:37-38
Rev. Dr. Deborah L. Clark
August 21, 2022
“How much do you get paid?” I asked. Gena laughed. “What an absurd question,” she said. “No one gets paid. We do it because it helps.” I first learned about the Framingham Heart Study from Gena Dooley, a life-long member of Edwards Church. If she were alive today, she would be over a hundred years old. Way back in 1996, as I was just getting to know our congregation, Gena and I were drinking herbal tea in her kitchen. She told me about her involvement in the Framingham Heart Study, how she and other family members went every couple of years for a full day of medical tests. “With your doctor?” I asked. “No,” she said, “with researchers.” She went on to describe how she had been part of the study from the very beginning–1948. In fact, she said, “I was recruited to go knock on doors to get volunteers to participate. It was fun; almost everyone said yes.” That was when I made her laugh, asking how much she got paid. What a silly question!
The conversation gave me insight into this complicated then-town named Framingham. We’d moved here during a contentious time—just as the first vote about whether to become a city was taking place. It was defeated. I was learning about the north-south divide and the challenges facing what was then the largest town in the nation. How powerful to learn as well about the generosity and faithfulness of so many Framingham residents, who give of their time, energy and private information in the service of the health and well-being of future generations.
That conversation prompted me to pay attention a few years later when the Framingham Heart Study celebrated its 50th anniversary. I learned that, back in 1948, Framingham had been chosen by US Public Health Service for this groundbreaking longitudinal health study because our town’s demographics mirrored the demographics of the nation. I also learned that fifty years later, in 1998, while our town and our nation had both changed, Framingham still reflected the diversity of the country. Because of that, and because it had already produced such significant research, the study was renewed beyond its original 50-year timeline.
My next contact with Framingham Heart Study came from a member of Plymouth Church, Dave Whittemore. As part of the second generation of study participants, he is a member of the Ethics Advisory Board. The board meets quarterly to ponder the ethical issues that arise in doing research on human subjects and to ensure that participant perspectives are central to the conversation. Dave’s daughter Holly is also on the board, representing the 3rd generation of participants. In 2014 Dave asked me if I would serve on the Ethics Advisory Board as a community clergy representative.
What an awe-inspiring experience. Every three months I am reminded of the goodness of human nature: our willingness to give of ourselves to help others, our potential to wrestle honestly with complex ethical dilemmas, our capacity to come together to make a difference. Every time the principal investigator, Vasan Ramachandran, makes a presentation, I am struck by his dedication to the science but even more by his respect and care for the volunteers who agree to be poked and prodded to benefit others. I am equally inspired by the dedication of the participants, some who have moved away but travel back to Framingham for their exams.
When we celebrated the 70th anniversary a few years ago, I began to understand the tremendous impact this study, and by extension our city, has had. The discovery of risk factors for heart disease, like smoking, high cholesterol and family history, emerged from the Heart Study. So did the idea that there are lifestyle changes and medications that can reduce our risk of heart disease. Billions of people have been empowered to take steps to promote their own health because of the 15,000 Framingham residents who have volunteered for this study over the last 74 years. The study has also had an impact on how research is done: it was one of the first to include as many women as men, and one of the first to make its data available for free to other researchers around the world.
The Framingham Heart Study provided inspiration for the theme of the city-wide public art project entitled “Many Cultures, One Heart.” The project celebrates a city with a big heart that has impacted so many hearts around the world. A call went out to Framingham-related artists from many cultural backgrounds to design and paint ceramic heart sculptures, which would be placed around the city. Another call went out to community groups and organizations to sponsor the artists. The project leaders were hoping for 20 hearts; it kept growing and growing until there were 32. Drive around Framingham and you’ll see them—each one different, each one glorious.
Two of the hearts were sponsored by the Framingham Heart Study. In honor of people from both our congregations who have participated in the study, I will focus today on those two sculptures.
The first one, created by Anna Ryan, is called The Fabric of Framingham. On one side is a depiction of a tradition quilt pattern—multi-colored triangles stitched together—representing the diverse individuals who make up the fabric of the heart study. On the other side, she created a different quilt design, with brightly colored houses connected by ribbons. This side, Anna said, represents the generations of families who have participated in the study.
Her design highlights the challenge the heart study faces trying to be a longitudinal study that also responds to changing demographics. The families that enrolled in the study in 1948 came from a wide variety of ethnic backgrounds, most of them identified as white. In 1994, recognizing the changing face of Framingham and our nation and the need for research to reflect that reality, the study reached out to families of African-American, indigenous, Asian, Caribbean, Middle Eastern and African descent. They began what they called the Omni cohort. In 2003, adult children of that first group became a second generation cohort. There are 695 families that have participated for three generations; 386 families are into their second generation.
The second heart, sponsored by Friends of Framingham Heart Study, was created by Jessica Meek, an artist from Saxonville Studios, just down the street. She calls her heart “Blooming Beautifully Together.” The heart depicts a garden, each plant contributing beauty and a quality at the heart of community. The protea, she says, represents diversity. Lavender evokes devotion. Antherium highlights hospitality. Ivy is for friendship; an olive branch lifts up hope for peace; an iris points to hope; borage, or starflower, represents courage.
I was struck by the resonance between her design and the apostle Paul’s vision of individuals clothing ourselves with qualities that enable a community to thrive. Jessica’s garden image highlights the interconnectedness of the qualities. Just as plants in a thoughtfully designed garden help each other by contributing nutrients and attracting pollinators, so the qualities in her garden strengthen and support each other. Hospitality awakens the potential for peace. Friendship inspires devotion. Hope prepares the soil for courage.
These two hearts celebrate the gifts the Framingham Heart Study brings to our community and our world. They also point to who we aspire to be as churches. We long to be intergenerational communities that give of ourselves for the well-being of the world. We are committed to making changes so we more fully reflect the diversity of our city, even as we struggle to know how to do that. We seek to be a garden where qualities like devotion and peace, hospitality and friendship, hope and courage enrich the soil, enable each of us to thrive, and bring beauty to our world. We dare to trust Jesus’ message of love, opening our hearts to become a source of living water to heal and transform our world.
There is so much wrong with our world. There are so many challenges facing our planet, our nation, and our city. It is easy to become overwhelmed by bad news. Today, I invite you to join with me in celebrating good news. There are so many people who give of their hearts in so many ways to strengthen the heartbeat of our world. It is possible to work together to make a difference, across generations and cultures and perspectives, for the benefit of others. We can clothe ourselves with compassion and kindness, humility, patience and love, and our hearts will absorb the love we put on. We can plant seeds of hospitality, friendship, peace, hope and courage; we can be a garden that blooms beautifully together, bringing love to our world. As we dare to trust the power of God’s love, out of our hearts will flow streams of living water. Thanks be to God. Amen.