Mental Health Month Spotlight with Susan Gregg-Schroeder of Mental Health Ministries of San Diego, California, United States for Wednesday, 6 April 2016
Mental Health Ministries e-Spotlight
Spring 2016
May is Mental Health Month
Mental Health Month was created over 50 years ago to raise awareness about mental health conditions and the importance of mental wellness for all by Mental Health America. There are now designated times in May for groups to raise awareness and advocate for improvements in research, prevention and treatment on specific mental health issues. The first week in May, for example, has been designated as Children’s Mental Health Week.
We always welcome your contribution of resources and programs addressing faith and spirituality that would be of interest to our national (and international) readers.
Mental Health Ministires Resource Section -
May: Mental Health Month
The May Mental Health section on the Mental Health Ministries website has several downloadable resources specific to Mental Health Month including three downloadable bulletin inserts or flyers, May is Mental Health Month, Mental Illness in Children and Adolescents andChildren’s Mental Health Week.
The National Catholic Partnership on Disability (NCPD) has a variety of resources for May is Mental Health Month. There are prayers, bulletin articles, a Resource Manual, Welcome and Valued, and links to other groups with resources addressing faith/spirituality and mental illness.
The Chicago Archdiocese Commission on Mental Illness has put together a helpful tool that includes 16 specific actions faith communities can do during Mental Health Month...or any time of the year. Since mental illness not only affects the individual with the condition but also family members, the needs of the entire family are addressed. We have included a PDF file of "Specific Actions" in the May, Mental Health Month section.
While May is designated as Mental Health Month, educating about mental health issues is important any time of the year.
Mental Health Sunday
The United Church of Christ Mental Health Network has resources to help you plan a Mental Health Sunday. They have a collection of worship resources in the Resource Guide for Mental Health Sunday. Worship resources include sermon ideas as well as complete sermons, a litany, unison prayers and more. They also have Congregational Toolkits for teaching your congregation about mental illnesses.
Mental Illness Awareness Month in May and Mental Illness Awareness Week (first week in October) are appropriate times to plan a Mental Health Sunday. But congregations are encouraged to focus a Sunday to provide education and support for members around mental health challenges any time that fits their schedule. Resources are available on their website.
Resource Link - Mental Illness: What is the Role of the Church, Temple, Mosque?
Resources collected by Religion Link, has put together a comprehensive list of current articles on various topics for religion journalists.
There are many excellent resources included on the website. One excerpt says, "In fall 2014, two studies emerged that showed while many people struggling with mental illness will approach clergy before consulting a doctor or other health care professional, clergy are woefully underprepared to deal with them." A Baylor University study shows theological schools do very little to prepare clergy for dealing with the mentally ill, and a LifeWay Research study shows more than 20 percent of pastors say they feel "reluctant" to aid the mentally ill due to time pressures. "Many people in congregations continue to suffer under well-meaning pastors who primarily tell them to pray harder or confess sin in relation to mental health problems," the Baylor study states.
SAMHSA Free Suicide App
For individuals at risk of suicide, behavioral health and primary care settings provide unique opportunities to connect with the health care system and access effective treatment. Almost half (45%) of individuals who die by suicide have visited a primary care provider in the month prior to their death, and 20% have had contact with mental health services.
Suicide Safe, SAMHSA's new suicide prevention app for mobile devices (available for Android and Apple devices) and optimized for tablets, helps providers integrate suicide prevention strategies into their practice and address suicide risk among their patients. Suicide Safe is a free app based on SAMHSA's Suicide Assessment Five-Step Evaluation and Triage (SAFE-T) card.
Download the app here.
SAMHSA Home Contact Us
Suicide Safe: The Suicide Prevention App for Health Care Providers
Free from SAMHSA
Article - How Can Community Religious Groups Aid Recovery for Individuals with Psychotic Illnesses?
It is a privilege to serve on the Mental Health and Faith Community Partnership Steering Committee and to see articles and studies being published to help foster the dialogue and encourage collaborations between APA psychiatrists and leaders of our religious and spiritual communities. Drs. James Griffith, Neely Myers and Michael Compton recently published an article in Community Mental Health Journal titled "How Can Community Religious Groups Aid Recovery for Individuals and Psychotic Illnesses?"
Because it is difficult to access online, we have included an article abstract: Ministries of churches, temples, mosques, and synagogues are a potential resource for individuals with chronic psychoses. Church attendance is highest in states with the least mental health funding, suggesting a role for community religious groups to aid over-extended mental health systems. The American Psychiatric Association has initiated new efforts to foster partnerships between psychiatrists and religious groups. Such partnerships should be informed by research evidence: (1) religious coping can have both beneficial and adverse effects upon psychosis illness severity; (2) psychosocial programs for persons with psychotic disorders should target specific psychobiological vulnerabilities, in addition to providing compassionate emotional support; (3) family psychoeducation is a well validated model for reducing schizophrenia illness severity that could inform how religious groups provide activities, social gatherings, and social networks for persons with psychotic disorders. Positive impacts from such collaborations may be greatest in low- and middle-income countries where mental health services are largely absent.
View the article here.
BRIEF REPORT
How Can Community Religious Groups Aid Recovery for Individuals with Psychotic Illnesses?
James L. Griffith1 • Neely Myers2 • Michael T. Compton3
Abstract Ministries of churches, temples, mosques, and synagogues are a potential resource for individuals with chronic psychoses. Church attendance is highest in states with the least mental health funding, suggesting a role for community religious groups to aid over-extended mental health systems. The American Psychiatric Association has initiated new efforts to foster partnerships between psychiatrists and religious groups. Such partnerships should be informed by research evidence: (1) religious coping can have both beneficial and adverse effects upon psychosis illness severity; (2) psychosocial programs for persons with psychotic disorders should target specific psychobiological vulnerabilities, in addition to providing compassionate emotional support; (3) family psychoeducation is a wellvalidated model for reducing schizophrenia illness severity that could inform how religious groups provide activities, social gatherings, and social networks for persons with
psychotic disorders. Positive impacts from such collaborations may be greatest in low- and middle-income countries where mental health services are largely absent.
Keywords Religion Spirituality Psychosis Psychoeducation Religious coping Schizophrenia
Introduction
Ministries and programs of churches, temples, mosques, and synagogues are a potential source of psychosocial support worldwide for individuals with chronic and disabling psychotic disorders. Community religious groups and other faith-based organizations often share with psychiatry a similar commitment to compassion and succor for individuals with mental disorders. They represent large numbers of people who are motivated by altruism and compassion.
Individuals in the United States who strive to recover from psychotic illnesses often encounter community mental health services that are under-funded and over-extended (Myers 2015). Outside the US, mental health professionals and services are nearly non-existent in many regions within low-and middle-income countries where religious healers and religious groups are often primary providers of care for patients with psychotic disorders (Carey 2015; Human
Rights Watch 2012). Collaboration between public systems of mental health services and community religious groups potentially could reduce costs and enhance effectiveness of public mental health systems. In the US, the 12 states with highest church attendance have averaged $63 per capita in annual state mental health agency funding (range $41–$97), whereas the 12 states with lowest church attendance averaged $207 per capita (range $99–$345) (Gallup US
Daily 2014; Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation 2013).
This inverse relationship suggests that community religious groups could serve potential roles in augmenting public mental health services, particularly in states where organized religious groups most flourish.
Through much of the twentieth century, a mutual antagonism between psychiatry and religion made effective collaboration difficult (Griffith 2010, pp. 56–80). Fresh & James L. Griffith jgriffith@mfa.gwu.edu1 Department of Psychiatry and the Behavioral Sciences, School of Medicine and Health Sciences, The George
Washington University, Washington, DC, USA 2 Department of Anthropology, Southern Methodist University Dallas, TX, USA
3 Department of Psychiatry, Lenox Hill Hospital, New York, NY, USA
Community Ment Health J DOI 10.1007/s10597-015-9974-1 appraisals are merited in light of research studies on religious coping by individuals with psychotic illnesses and advances in our understanding of psychosocial interventions that can moderate illness severity. Such a re-appraisal should take into consideration multiple emerging themes.
First, religious coping can have both beneficial and adverse effects upon severity of psychotic illnesses, such as schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder. Second, religious coping that can substantially ameliorate symptoms of depression and anxiety does not necessarily bear similarly positive effects upon psychotic symptoms, suggesting a need for psychosocial programs that can target specific
vulnerabilities that generate psychotic symptoms. Third, family psychoeducation programs have successfully helped families to create protective family environments that buffer biological vulnerabilities to relapse and exacerbations of psychotic symptoms. Such family psychoeducation approaches can serve as a model for psychoeducation programs to help religious leaders and community religious groups better respond to the needs of persons with psychotic illnesses (McFarlane 2002; McFarlane et al. 2003; McFarlane 2009). The Mental Health and Faith Community Partnership Steering Committee was created by the American Psychiatric Association in 2014 to foster such collaborations between psychiatrists and religious groups (Health and Partnership 2015; Summergrad 2014).
Religious Coping and Psychotic Illnesses
It has been well documented that most individuals with psychotic illnesses rely upon religious coping and do so more extensively than people in the broader general population.
Religious coping refers to reliance upon religious beliefs and worldview, prayer and other religious practices, or participation in faith-based organizations in order to manage life’s adversities and to live purposefully (Pargament et al. 1998). Religious coping is the most common form of coping with adversity among people with psychotic illnesses (Russinova and Blanch 2007). Eighty percent
or more of individuals with psychotic illnesses engage in religious coping (Nolan et al. 2012; Pargament et al. 1998; Tepper et al. 2001). Compared with general populations, people diagnosed with schizophrenia more greatly value the importance of religion in daily living and report more frequent participation in both individual and group religious activities (Huguelet et al. 2006; Mohr et al. 2012).
Shah et al. conducted a literature review that identified seven factors that appeared to account for this high rate of religious coping: strengthening sense of self-worth; imbuing suffering with meaning; providing problem-solving strategies; providing a community of support, both human and divine, for reducing loneliness; providing practical support from a social network; providing a sense of indirect control over one’s life; providing role models from sacred writings that facilitate acceptance of suffering (Shah et al.
2011).
While religious coping is highly valued, its effects upon illness severity and course of psychotic illnesses can be either positive or negative (Griffith 2010; Pargament et al. 1998; Rosmarin et al. 2013). Negative religious coping, also known as spiritual struggle, refers to emotional con-flict over religious beliefs, a conflicted relationship with one’s deity or religious group, or intrapsychic distress involving religious issues (Pargament et al. 1998). Negative religious coping is associated with greater suicide risk,
anxiety, and depression among people with psychotic illnesses (Rosmarin et al. 2013). Religious support and enduring with faith have been positively associated with recovery, whereas negative religious coping adversely impacts recovery (Nolan et al. 2012; Webb et al. 2011).
Some research studies have found positive religious coping to show greater magnitudes of effects upon anxiety and depression than upon psychotic symptoms. Depression, anxiety, and common ‘‘primary care’’ mental health problems often show have high rates of symptom remission when emotional and relational support is provided (Wampold
2007). However, provision of emotional and social support has failed to produce notable improvement for chronic psychotic illnesses unless linked to psychopharmacology and other evidence-based psychosocial treatments (Anderson et al. 1986). Rosmarin et al. found positive religious coping to reduce anxiety and depression
for persons with psychoses, but not psychotic symptoms to a similar degree (Rosmarin et al. 2013).
The contrast in outcomes for emotional and relational support for depression and anxiety versus chronic psychotic illnesses was exemplified in the experiences of the Emanuel Movement, perhaps the major American success story for a generative collaboration between secular psychiatrists and a religious community.
Learning from the Past: The Emmanuel
Movement as an Early Collaboration Between a Community Religious Group and Secular Psychiatrists
From 1906 to 1929, the Emmanuel Movement flourished as a partnership between the clergy of Back Bay Boston’s Emmanuel Episcopal Church and academic psychiatrists at Harvard Medical School who jointly met with emotionally troubled people in the church (Greene 1934). It began at the turn of the 20th century when Dr. Elwood Worcester, an Episcopal priest, concluded that modern Christian churches had strayed from their original mission to reduce Community Mental Health suffering of congregants and community members. He blamed this abdication of mission for the rapid growth of Christian sects that promised miraculous healings. Moreover, he witnessed how little medical doctors understood psychiatric illnesses or could provide relief for those with mental suffering. When appointed rector of Emmanuel Church, Dr. Worcester discussed with physicians in his
church a plan for community outreach to people in need of mental health care, modeling his proposal after a then successful community-based public health program for Bostonians with tuberculosis.
In 1906 Dr. Worcester and parishioner physicians from Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School launched a unique experiment in community treatment using this new model of interdisciplinary collaboration.
Patients referred by their physicians would come to Emmanuel Church to be treated jointly by a volunteer medical doctor and a member of the clergy. The Emmanuel Movement provided care for thousands of
individuals over more than two decades, and with substantial success helping those with anxiety, depression, or alcohol abuse. The Emmanuel Movement briefly became a national phenomenon, with a featured article in Ladies Home Journal and 200,000 sold copies of a book about the movement, Religion and Medicine: The Moral Control of
Nervous Disorders (Greene 1934).
Despite its accomplishments on for those with anxiety, depression, or alcohol abuse, there was early recognition that individuals with psychotic illnesses showed little improvement with treatment methods limited to suggestion, hypnosis, and moral support. In fact, one Boston insane asylum, seeking to play a joke on Harvard Medical
School professor, Dr. James J. Putnam, ‘‘sent down several hack-loads of its patients,’’ who were treated kindly but promptly returned to their mental asylum for care. ‘‘There was no intention of trying to deal with cases of recognized insanity’’ (Greene 1934, p. 59). The humanistic care provided that the Emmanuel Movement provided was healing for many individuals with anxiety, depression, and alcoholism, but it failed as a sole treatment for chronic psychotic illnesses.
From Individual Religious Coping to Protective Religious Environments
A fresh approach has been needed for translating high rates of religious coping by persons with psychotic illnesses into more substantial impacts upon illness severity. In the 1980s family psychoeducation began achieving notable improvements in illness course for patients with schizophrenia by utilizing family interventions to buffer biological vulnerabilities for relapse and exacerbations of psychotic symptoms. Family psychoeducation is now regarded as evidence-based treatment for schizophrenia. Family psychoeducation helps family members learn how to implement a protective environment that compensates for biologically-based sensitivities to sensory stimulation, prolonged stress and strenuous demands, rapid changes in the environment, tasks with complex cognitive demands, social disruptions, negative emotional experiences, and use of drugs or alcohol (McFarlane 2009, p. 646). Family members learn how to recognize and to attenuate such factors in the home environment. They maintain an emotional environment within the family that is warm but not excessively so; limit expressions of criticism or hostility; keep communications clear and simple; seek changes in small steps; and rely upon medications, while using symptoms as warning signs for possible relapse (McFarlane 2009, p. 694).
The family psychoeducation approach provides a plausible starting point for clergy and community religious groups who seek to move beyond compassionate emotional support to tailoring settings for religious life that avoid activation of vulnerabilities for psychotic symptoms. Such settings could include worship experiences, conduct of social gatherings, and other ‘‘fellowship’’ activities.
Through educational programs and training workshops:
1. Clergy and community religious groups can learn why low-stimulation environments matter and how to monitor a zone of tolerance for psychotic persons.
Community religious groups can provide settings that are structured with low levels of emotional intensity and communications that are clear and simple.
Many clergy have their own accounts for unfortunate incidents that occurred when religious services proved disorganizing, rather than edifying, for observant persons with psychotic illnesses. Griffith has provided case studies of a murder-suicide (Griffith 2010, pp. 206–207) and filicide (Griffith 2010, pp. 183–185). In the former, fervent sermons on sin and salvation became disorganizing for a
young man with schizophrenia. He became preoccupied with the possibility his parents could go to hell. He began hearing God’s voice telling him to stop taking his medications and to become a preacher. Over the ensuing days, he began hearing Satan’s voice shouting at him, then Satan entering his body, and finally his transformation into Satan.
With his father’s shotgun, he shot and killed his father, then his mother, and then killed himself. With hindsight, it can be imagined that a collaborative relationship between the family’s minister, the patient’s family, and the local mental health center might have found a point of intervention to have changed the course of events.
In the second case, Andrea Yates, diagnosed with a recurrent psychotic depression, drowned her five children Community Mental Health because they were still younger than the ‘‘age of accountability’’ and their souls could still live with God in heaven.
For years, a fundamentalist Christian cult led by Michael Woroniecki held sway over the Yates family as an itinerant, self-ordained, ‘‘fire and brimstone’’ preacher. Woroniecki preached that children of those not adherent to this discipline would be destined for Hell once they reached 12 years old, the ‘‘age of accountability.’’ He blamed women who were ‘‘witches’’ and ‘‘daughters of Eve’’ that were genetically rebellious against God’s creation. He taught that it was better for parents to commit suicide than to cause their children to be damned. A forensic psychiatrist testified that Ms. Yates believed she was doing what was right for the children by killing them. While Ms. Yates religious beliefs and practices do not account for the genesis of her psychotic mood disorder, the content of her delusions are best explained by the malignant religiosity of Woroniecki’s religious group. It can be imagined that the tragedy would have been averted had Ms. Yates and her family been part of a different religious group that was well-informed about severe mental disorders and actively consulting with local mental health services.
Psychoeducation programs potentially can help clergy and religious groups broadly to understand how emotionally intense religious experiences can exacerbate psychosis.
Emotionally evocative religious experiences that are tolerable, or even positive growth experiences, for other individuals, can be intolerable for persons with psychotic illnesses. Ministries of community religious groups can provide specific outreach to persons with psychotic illnesses by creating ‘‘psychosis-friendly’’ social gatherings, service projects, and worship activities that are supervised, structured, and low-stimulation.
2. Community religious groups can provide protective environments that facilitate healthcare for both mental and physical well-being.
Religious leaders and communities can provide vital encouragement for adherence to medications and psychiatric treatment. Delusions with religious content are often associated with poor adherence to psychiatric treatment (Mohr et al. 2010). More importantly, clergy and religious groups who appreciate the necessity of psychiatric medications will not counsel the over-reliance upon religious
practices, such as prayer, to the exclusion of psychiatric treatment (Pargament et al. 1998).
This role can be particularly important for ensuring regular medical health care, in addition to mental health services. Larsen found that men and women with schizophrenia in Denmark have life expectancies shorter than the general population by 18.7 and 16.3 years, respectively, primarily due to excess mortality from physical diseases (Larsen 2011). Religious groups potentially can serve important roles in helping persons with psychotic illnesses to access healthcare and to engage in healthy lifestyles.
3. Community religious groups can serve as places of sanctuary where persons with psychotic illnesses will be protected from stigma and discrimination.
Uninformed religious groups can promulgate stigmatization of mentally-ill persons as morally-deficient, dangerous, or disruptive. Psychoeducation can help religious groups to perceive a person with psychosis as a full and worthy person, rather than a threat to the group.
4. Community religious groups can provide safe communities and social networks for persons with psychotic illnesses, thereby combatting loneliness and social isolation.
Ongoing access to social contact and support prevents deterioration and improves illness course for most chronic disorders (Becker et al. 1998; Penninx et al. 1996). Social network size for individuals with schizophrenia decreases in size with the number of episodes, is lower than normal prior to onset, and decreases during the first episode (Anderson et al. 1984). For some persons with psychotic illnesses, a willing and educated church, temple, synagogue, or mosque is well-positioned to become a ‘‘second family.’’
Psychoeducational programs for community religious groups could become natural allies for the peer-support Recovery Movement. The Recovery Movement regards recovery as a transformative journey towards a rich and fulfilling life that extends beyond a sole focus on management of symptoms. It seeks to advance each patient’s life satisfaction, empowerment as persons, hope and commitment to recovery, and improved ability to seek and maintain supportive relationships (Jacobson 2001; Myers 2015). Effective engagement of a religious group can provide a person recovering from psychosis with a community of people who share these and similar values for full and worthy lives.
Mental-health ministry committees can be proposed for community religious groups in partnership with community psychiatrists at the local level (Williams et al. 2014). Such partnerships are promoted by the American Psychiatric Association’s Faith Community and Mental Health Partnership Steering Committee (Health and Partnership 2015;
Summergrad 2014).
Finally, psychoeducational programs for religious leaders and lay ministries could be modeled upon the Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) model for police departments (Compton et al. 2011). The CIT model identifies police officers with particular interests and aptitudes for interacting with individuals showing disruptive or psychotic
behaviors when police are called to the scene. These Community Mental Health officers become the experts on mental disorder for that police department. Following the CIT model, individuals within churches or other religious groups could be identi-fied for special training on the special needs and care for individuals with psychotic disorders. These peer leaders can themselves become consultants for mental health crises and problems that involve persons with psychoses.
Global Mental Health: The Need for Psychiatric Services Research with Community Religious
Groups in Low- and Middle-Income Countries Collaborations between religious and mental health professionals hold promise for low- and middle-income countries where community mental health systems are
severely overextended or absent (Collins et al. 2011; de Jong 2014). Such linkages could help correct egregious abuses of mentally-ill persons when religious healers have attempted to cure psychotic illnesses with no involvement of psychiatric treatment (Carey 2015; Human Rights Watch 2012). de Jong has noted the potential role for traditional healers, including religious healers, to fill the
mental health gap in low- and middle-income countries (de Jong 2014, p. 818):
‘‘In low- and middle-income countries, traditional healers are ubiquitous (about 1:200–650 inhabitants is a healer), geographically, culturally, and financially accessible, share the world view and meaning-making systems of local populations, use a wide variety of psychological interventions that they share with
clinical psychology, and are experts in a systemic approach to managing social stressors.’’
There is an urgent need for mixed methods research both in the US and worldwide to learn about the current knowledge, beliefs, and practices towards individuals with psychotic illnesses among religious leaders, religious healers, and different religious communities, as well as what kinds of faith-based interventions may be most effective. Greater understanding is needed for how religious
groups can best provide positive emotions, promotion of self-care and health behaviors, and protection from societal and internalized stigma.
Conclusion
Historically, efforts such as the Emmanuel Movement sought to provide persons with psychotic illnesses with compassionate and humanistic care as a religious ‘‘moral therapy’’ but largely failed to reduce illness severity and functional deterioration. Their failures contributed to a therapeutic nihilism about the potential recovery of persons with psychotic disorders that lasted until the recent advent of the Recovery Movement.
Today new opportunities exist for collaborations between psychiatrists and community religious groups for creating social gatherings, service projects, and worship activities that are protective for persons with the psychobiological vulnerabilities of psychoses; creating programs to support adherence to psychiatric treatment and access to healthcare; providing sanctuary from stigma and discrimination; and promoting communities of acceptance and person-to-person relatedness. Such collaborations can be readily linked to the Recovery Movement and peer support organizations.
How religious groups or faith-based organizations can provide nurturing and healing, as well as a protective environment, has been little studied (Smolak et al. 2013).
New psychiatric services, medical anthropology, and cultural psychiatry research is needed in both the US and worldwide in order to maximize potential synergies from such collaborations.
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Becker, T., Leese, M., Clarkson, P., et al. (1998). Links between
social network and quality of life: An epidemiologically
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Carey, B. (2015). The chains of mental illness in West Africa. New
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When Mental Health Ministries started in 2001, there was not much attention given to addressing the stigma of mental illness in our faith communities. Since then there is increasing awareness of the important role of faith and spirituality in the treatment and recovery process. New resources and outreach programs continue to be developed. We can learn from each other!
The It Worked For Us section of our website has two parts...What We Are Doing and Your Ideas. The What We Are Doing section is a way for faith communities to share what they are doing...what has worked and what the challenges have been. The Your Ideas section includes ideas submitted by individuals. If you have ideas to contribute, you can contact Mental Health Ministries through the website or by e-mailing Susan atsgschroed@cox.net.
NAMI National Convention
The 2016 NAMI National Convention, July 6–9 in Denver, will gather nearly 2,000 mental health activists and advocates from across the United States and other countries. The convention educates, encourages and empowers a diverse community that is passionate about building better lives for people affected by mental illness. This year’s theme is "Act. Advocate. Achieve." For more information and registration visit the convention website.
Snippets from Susan
I went through a rough time this last fall after titrating off my medications under the supervision of my doctor. I had been in recovery for so many years that we both thought it was worth the try. After several triggers, I found myself back in the shadows of depression. Even though I educate about mental health issues, I personally found it very difficult to reach out for help and support.
While we have come a long way, I experienced again how the stigma and shame associated with mental health challenges are still very real. When we see someone struggling, we may need to take the first step in reaching out in a non-judgmental way. This is one reason why it is important to educate our faith communities that mental illness is a no-fault illness and that hope and recovery are possible. Medications are certainly necessary. But it is relationships and love that heal the soul. Thankfully, I am again doing very well and I am grateful for the support and care that I received.
Spirit God, you know our needs
our wounds
our hurts
our fears
Even before we can form them into words of prayers.
You are patient with us.
You are protective of us
You are present with us until such time that we are able to ask for what we need.
Thank you, Spirit God, for your healing taking place within
before we are even aware of how broken we have become.[Susan Gregg-Schroeder]
Rev. Susan Gregg-Schroeder
Coordinator of Mental Health Ministries
www.MentalHealthMinistries.net
6707 Monte Verde Drive
San Diego, California 92119, United States
---------------------
our hurts
our fears
Even before we can form them into words of prayers.
You are patient with us.
You are protective of us
You are present with us until such time that we are able to ask for what we need.
Thank you, Spirit God, for your healing taking place within
before we are even aware of how broken we have become.[Susan Gregg-Schroeder]
Rev. Susan Gregg-Schroeder
Coordinator of Mental Health Ministries
www.MentalHealthMinistries.net
6707 Monte Verde Drive
San Diego, California 92119, United States
---------------------
file:///C:/Users/Gary%20Lee%20Parker/Downloads/WTW-Resource-Guide-FINAL2.pdf
Resource Guide
for
Mental Health Sunday
Worship Services
Introduction 3
Call to Worship and Prayer 4
Litany 5
Sermon Starters 6
Scriptural Resources 8
Sermon
Widening the Welcome 10
A Pastor’s Reflections
Providing Hope in Troubled Times
for People with Brain Disorders 13
A Congregant’s Reflections 16
Suggested Hymns 18
Helpful Hints 19
Bulletin Insert (front and back) 20
9 Ways You Can Help 22
Additional Resources 23
Content in the guide is also available as separate pdf or Word files at
mhn-ucc.blogspot.com
Table of Contents
Widen the Welcome: UCC for Mental Health -- Resource Guide for Mental Health Sunday
2
"People with mental problems are our neighbors. They are members of
our congregations, members of our families; they are everywhere in this
country. If we ignore their cries for help, we will be continuing to participate
in the anguish from which those cries for help come. A problem
of this magnitude will not go away. Because it will not go away, and
because of our spiritual commitments, we are compelled to take action."
Rosalynn Carter
Dear UCC friends,
Who are those with a mental illness?
We are your brother, your sister, the
man across the street, the person next
to you in the pew.
In a given year, one in every four people
(26.2%, according to the National
Institute on Mental Health) will be affected
by substance abuse or a mental
illness that is severe, moderate or mild.
Why widen the welcome to all? Jesus
reached out to people who were marginalized,
to those who were ostracized,
and to those who were the
outcasts in the eyes of society. The
way of Jesus was comfort, not
ridicule; it was love, not indifference; it
was empathy, not hostility. The way of
Jesus is our spiritual calling. It is the
way we are to acknowledge and affirm
the worth of everyone, especially
those who are deemed less than, not
enough, and not deserving of respect.
Jesus’ way is to overturn the customs
that put the lowly down and to lift up
those who have been shut out. It is our
spiritual calling to follow Jesus that
leads us to widen our welcome.
The United Church of Christ Mental
Health Network invites you to highlight
mental health awareness on the
first Sunday in May. If this date does
not work for you, we encourage you to
find another Sunday that suits your
schedule.
We see Mental Health Sunday as a
way for your congregation to begin or
to continue to provide education and
support to your members around
mental health challenges.
Introduction
We encourage you to:
- Plan a Sunday with the theme:
"Widen the Welcome: UCC for
Mental Health"
- Use the worship resources and
church bulletin insert collected in
this resource guide and available as
individual files on the Web at
mhn-ucc.blogspot.com
- Explore the UCC kits (available at
the URL above) for teaching your
congregation about mental illnesses
- Pay particular attention to future
UCC MHN emails regarding mental
health concerns
Feel free to use the resources in this
guide as they are or adapt them to
meet the specific needs of your congregation.
You can also develop your
own resources, and if you do, we encourage
you to share them with us so
we can make them available to other
congregations.
The UCC Mental Health Network intends
to provide on-going resources
and suggestions. We would gladly welcome
your feedback, questions and
stories about what you have done to
focus on mental health in your congregation.
Share these by emailing me at
the address below.
Blessings,
Alan Johnson
Chair, UCC Mental Health Network
Email: revalan2004@comcast.net
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CALL TO WORSHIP
God calls us to love our neighbor as ourselves;
the one who is weak and the one who is strong,
the one who is happy and the one who is sad,
the one who is enjoying mental wellness today
and the one who is struggling with mental illness today,
the one whom we understand and the one we don’t,
the one who is embraced and the one who is shunned,
the one who is like us and the one who is different.
Come, let us worship together!
We come, trusting God’s abundant love!
PRAYER
O Holy God, we all live in communities where there are people whose lives are
challenged by substance abuse, mental illness and brain disorders. The families of
people living with serious mental health issues often feel overwhelmed and isolated
by the many challenges these issues create. Holy One, create in us a tenderness
to the needs of all, an openness to everyone’s gifts, and a commitment to the
struggle for justice. We offer this prayer in the name of the Risen Christ who
makes all things new. Amen.
Content in the guide is also available as separate pdf files at
mhn-ucc.blogspot.com
Call to Worship/Prayer
Widen the Welcome: UCC for Mental Health -- Resource Guide for Mental Health Sunday
4
LITANY
Ask church staff or a volunteer to apply
a colored sticker on every fourth bulletin
prior to the service. As we begin the
litany, each person who has a colored
sticker is asked to rise in body or in spirit,
as they are representative of the one in
four(see box below) people in America
who are affected by mental illness in a
given year.
Leader: If you have a colored sticker on
your bulletin, I invite you to rise in body
or in spirit, as you represent the one in
four people in America who are affected
by substance abuse or a mental illness
that is severe, moderate, or mild. We acknowledge
that we are often uninformed
about these issues and how they impact
persons and their families.
Response (those who are seated): At
times, because of our lack of knowledge
and understanding, we find ourselves separated
from our sisters and brothers with
serious mental illness and substance
abuse, as well as their families.
Response (those who have risen): We
hope that God will help us all dispel
ignorance and misinformation about
substance abuse and the serious mental
illnesses such as major depression,
bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, panic
disorder, post traumatic stress disorder,
and obsessive compulsive disorder.
Leader: We pray that troubled minds and
hearts, and broken lives and relationships
might be healed.
Response (those who are seated): We pray
that the cloud of stigma, labels, exclusion
and marginalization might be dispelled for
the sake of those touched by mental illness
and substance abuse.
Litany
Response (those who have risen): We
pray that we may be containers of
hope for persons and families living
with mental health challenges. We
pray also for better treatment, for
steadier recovery, for greater opportunity
to work and serve.
Leader: We live with gratitude for compassionate,
dedicated caregivers and
mental health professionals, for new discoveries
in brain research and better medications.
All: O God, we seek the power of your
Spirit, that we may live in fuller union
with you, ourselves, and those living with
mental health issues. Grant that we may
gain courage to love and understand each
other, as you love and understand us.
Amen
Adapted by First Congregational Church,
Boulder, Colo., from prayers by
Susan Gregg Schroeder
found at
http://www.mentalhealthministries.net
Widen the Welcome: UCC for Mental Health -- Resource Guide for Mental Health Sunday
5
Facts about the prevalence of
mental illness
According to a study conducted by
Harvard Medical School, 26% of
adults in the U.S. have an anxiety,
mood, impulse control, or substance
disorder in a given year. Of those,
22% were classified as serious; 37%,
moderate; and 40%, mild. You can
read a summary of the study at
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/
15939839
SERMON STARTERS
“Coming Out of the Dark”
Isaiah 58: 8, 9 (Isaiah 58:1-12 – Ash
Wednesday, Years A, B and C)
John 1: 1-5 (John 1: 1-14 – Christmas
Day, Years A, B and C)
John 8: 12
The creation story from the first chapter
of Genesis tells of God creating light out
of the darkness. Light is a symbol of
hope and new life throughout our sacred
scriptures. The Gospel of John proclaims,
“The light shines in the darkness, and the
darkness did not overcome it.” (John 1: 5)
The foundation of our faith is God’s victory
over darkness and the ultimate triumph
of light. Darkness can be
terrifying for those experiencing mental
illness. But love comes out of the darkness
and this love gradually draws us
back into the light of this world. For persons
experiencing a mental illness, we can
be instruments of God’s love by extending
care, compassion and hope to those in
the grip of darkness and despair.
“Mental Illness and Families of Faith”
Luke 15: 1-10 (Proper 19, Year C)
When mental illness strikes in young
adulthood, families of faith often tell
how they experience being “lost” from
their faith communities much as the lost
son, the lost sheep, or the lost coin in
these parables. Jesus’ parables image the
housewife leaving nothing undisturbed to
find the lost coin, and the shepherd risking
the entire flock to find the lost sheep.
The parables set an example of how we
care for persons with a mental illness and
their families. They lead us away from
our impulse to blame those who are
struggling and to focus instead on acceptance
and support. When we surround
them with our love and care, everyone
can celebrate a time of healing and recovery
in the family of faith.
Sermon Starters
“Understanding Depression”
1 Kings 19: 1-16a (Proper 7, Year C)
After a dramatic showdown with the
priests of Baal on Mt. Carmel, in which
Elijah was victorious, Queen Jezebel,
sympathetic to Baal worship, threatened
Elijah’s life. Elijah left his servant and
fled to the desert where he took refuge
under a broom tree. He wished he would
die. Instead of gathering his friends
around him for support, he isolated himself.
Elijah was experiencing many of the
symptoms of depression, which are still
so very common today, such as lack of
sleep, physical exhaustion, feeling rejected
and worthless, isolation and irrational
negative thoughts about his own
death. An angel of the Lord ministered
to Elijah until he was ready to
return to his community.
“Addiction and Depression”
John 4: 7-30 (Lent 3, Year A)
In the story of the Samaritan woman,
Jesus asks for water from an outcast
woman - a woman who has had five
husbands and is living with still another.
Jesus boldly initiates a conversation with
the woman at the well, knowing the
cultural taboos of a man speaking to a
woman and a Jew addressing a Samaritan.
Their lengthy conversation centers
on the theme of “living water,” which
Jesus promises to the woman. Persons
struggling with addictions that are often
brought on by mental illnesses such as
depression, also thirst for “living water.”
Jesus did not dwell on the Samaritan
woman’s past. Rather he showed us how
faith communities can initiate a relationship
with those struggling with these illnesses.
Jesus clearly understood that all
persons of faith, and especially those
who are separated from their faith community
for whatever reason, need to be
offered a drink from the deep well of
Widen the Welcome: UCC for Mental Health -- Resource Guide for Mental Health Sunday
6
“living water” so they may find the gift
of new life.
“Teenage Depression and Suicide”
Luke 15: 11-32 The Prodigal Son (Lent 4,
Year C)
When young adults have a mental illness
they often feel lost and abandoned by
family, friends and church. Parents need
to realize that young people make mistakes
because they are young and sometimes
because their judgment is impaired
by a mental illness. Most, like the prodigal
son, come home. If they don’t seem to
be headed in this direction, parents need
to know the signs and not be afraid to intervene.
Seeking professional help is not a
sign of weakness, but a sign of strength.
The church can play a vital role in educating
the congregation so the church can
be a safe, supportive community for youth
and families struggling with these issues.
“Mental Illness and Older Adults”
1 Samuel 16: 14-23
The young David is introduced to the
troubled King Saul who is tormented by
“an evil spirit from the Lord.” David’s
provides soothing music for the troubled
king. But, more importantly, he is caring
and compassionate even in the face of
Saul’s terrible rages. Too often we try to
explain behaviors we do not understand
by labeling as an “evil spirit” or as a punishment
from God. Medical science has
taught us much about illnesses of the
brain. Modern researchers have theorized
that Saul suffered from a mental illness.
As people of faith, we are called to share
God’s love and compassion with those
who are hurting. We can and should be
instruments of healing and comfort to
those we know are suffering from a mental
illness through no fault of their own,
just as David was an instrument of healing
and comfort to Saul.
Sermon Starters
Widen the Welcome: UCC for Mental Health -- Resource Guide for Mental Health Sunday
7
“Where is God in the Darkness?”
Psalm 88
If you have never experienced the devastation
of a serious mental illness, Psalm
88 is one place to begin. This Psalmist describes
feelings of sadness, isolation,
anger, abandonment, mistrust, spiritual
emptiness and hopelessness. But sometimes
it is precisely with our wounds and
in our brokenness that we are most open
to God. When we let go of our need to
control and are truly open to God’s transforming
grace, we find that the darkness
becomes a time not of doing and knowing,
but of being and unknowing. It is
here that we discover the source of mystery
that holds us and surrounds us even
when we are not aware of that Divine
presence.
“Overcoming Stigma: Finding Hope”
Micah 6: 8 (8th Sunday in Ordinary
Time, Year A)
The major reason many persons do not
get the treatment they need for a mental
illness is the stigma that surrounds these
illnesses of the brain. Most fear comes
from our lack of understanding of these
illnesses. Faith leaders and congregations
can and should learn ways to be supportive
and helpful to persons struggling with
mental illness. The words of Micah remind
us that the Lord requires us “to act
justly and to love mercy.” This may
require us to advocate for social issues
affecting the mentally ill. By offering
loving mercy and including those struggling
with mental illness in our prayers
and in the life of our congregations, we
will give hope to those who often feel
hopeless.
“Creating Caring Congregations”
Luke 8: 26-29 (Proper 7, Year C)
The story of the man called Legion,
though it appears three times in the
Gospels, only appears once in the preaching
lectionary. This text from Luke reveals
that people with mental illness in
biblical times were often banished from
their communities because of the community’s
fear of behaviors they did not
understand.
In Luke’s version of this story, Jesus intentionally
sought out this man just as
the church must do today. Because of
Jesus’ love and compassion, this man was
healed. The church today is called to embrace
those who struggle with a mental
illness and be instruments of healing and
wholeness. Even though this man wanted
to follow Jesus, he was sent back to the
full membership of his own community.
And so it was that a person with a mental
illness became the first evangelist to
the Gentiles.
The above sermon starters are from
Mental Health Ministries, “Scripture
Citations with Sermon Starters,” from the
resource guide that accompanies the DVD,
“Mental Health Mission Moments.”
SCRIPTURAL RESOURCES
Luke 14: 15-24
Two stories Luke’s gospel illustrate the
power of spiritual support through inclusion,
especially for people who are living
with a disability. The first is the Great
Banquet recorded in Luke’s gospel
(14:15-24). Bob Molsberry writes, “Jesus
makes a point of including persons with
disabilities. They don’t have to repent
and be forgiven first. They are not required
to be ‘fixed’ or ‘normalized’ before
Scriptural Resources
Widen the Welcome: UCC for Mental Health -- Resource Guide for Mental Health Sunday
8
they can enter. They are welcome just as
they are.” In the gospel, the invitations
go out to the poor, the lame, the blind
and the crippled. I would add that the invitations
are given to those who have
been stigmatized by most of society because
of their major depression, bipolar
disorder, anxiety disorder or other brain
disorders. These are conditions that are
mostly not visible. It is those who feel
left out in the biblical story that are
brought in. They get preferential treatment.
Bob writes, “Only when the previously
excluded are ingathered can the
feast commence. Only when the pernicious
idea of normalcy is destroyed can
normal life begin. The principle of radical
inclusion is the unifying thread for all
of scripture, and the key to understanding
the gospel.”
Luke 8: 26-39
(Also see the sermon starter, above, for
thoughts on this text.)
The second story from Luke (8:26-39) is
the one of the man who lived in the
tombs, as one who is a living dead person.
He was bound with chains and shackles
and when he broke those bonds, he would
run wild. He was broken from the community,
and the community was broken
off from him. The community itself was
incomplete since he was not a member.
He was tormented and driven by inner
forces that separated him from others in
community. As the man recognizes
Jesus, Jesus reaches out to this man and
through Jesus’ own presence and power
the man was healed. He was brought
into his right mind. Then we read that
the man was clothed and surrounded by
Jesus’ followers. Perhaps the disciples
took some of their own garments to
clothe this man. This biblical story tells
us of the welcome of a person who is unusual
and because of the unconditional
love of, the respect of, and the connection
with Jesus. The community embraces
this outcast. He is brought into the care
of the community. He is brought from
the living dead into life through his encounter
with Jesus and is welcomed into
the community.
Psalm 23
Another biblical image that underscores
our calling to provide support to those
who are disconnected and who may be
vulnerable is in Psalm 23. We think
about a Shepherd who holds and is rocking
the lamb. Also, there is the rod and
the staff of the Shepherd that provides
comfort as well as signs of strength in
face of opposition. They are used to fight
off the dangers. The Shepherd prepares a
table in the presence of one’s enemies.
This is a Shepherd who advocates for the
vulnerable, who protects the hurting, and
who creates that place where there is
calm and rest.
Ephesians 6:10-17
Ephesians 6:10-17 speaks to many people
who are seeking to find their own confidence
and inner strength. The armor of
God includes “the belt of truth, the
breastplate of righteousness, shoes so as
to proclaim the gospel of peace, the
shield of faith, the helmet of salvation
and the sword of the Spirit, which is the
word of God.” Imaging yourself with
these objects, you can see them not as
heavy but metaphorical as gifts that will
give you what is needed to continue on
with assurance of being embraced by the
divine. You can see yourself embraced
and defended with the metaphorical
armor of faith. You are given the
strength to find your own inner resources
of confidence, trust, and giftedness.
Scriptural Resources
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9
Lamentations 5: 19-22
Mental illness remains one of the most
stigmatized disorders in American society.
Stigma refers to those negative attitudes
and beliefs that arouse fear,
rejection, avoidance, and discrimination
against individuals with mental illness.
Consequently, individuals with mental illness
may internalize those negative attitudes
and beliefs, so much so that they
may conceal symptoms and fail to seek
treatment. Stigmatization also contributes
to an approach to Christian faith
that is at dis-ease with expressions of
psychological distress (e.g., depression or
anxiety), and thus may lead Christian
congregations to treat individuals with
mental illness as outcasts.
The primary literary form utilized in the
book of Lamentations is the lament,
which is a prayer of protest, complaint,
and grief that fervently appeals, either
individually or communally, for divine
deliverance. Its purpose “is to address
God in the midst of inexplicable suffering.”
At its essence, a lament is a “cry
for help.” As such, it is familiar – in content,
if not in form – to all of us, for who
among us has not cried out – in anger,
grief, frustration, or torment – at some
point in our lives? Individuals with mental
illness know lament all too well. While
Lamentations chapter 5 fits the formcritical
category of communal lament,
the “themes of the alienation of God’s
people” in verses 19 – 22 can be seen as
analogous to the stigma of mental illness,
and thus gives voice to the lament of
those with mental illness.
Find a full exegesis of this passage at
mhn-ucc.blogspot.com.
One early summer afternoon when I was
16, I was at home sitting at the piano,
just doodling on the keyboard, when my
father came into the room. I looked up
startled to see him because he and my
mother had just left for a trip the day before.
I slid off the piano bench and got
up to say hello to him when he burst into
tears. It was the first time I had ever seen
my father cry. Between sobs, trying to
catch his breath he told me that my
mother was ill and he had taken her to
the hospital. As I tried to get him to tell
me what was wrong, he could barely find
the words. “Your mother,” he stammered,
“had a ‘nervous breakdown.’” In
reality, my mother had a psychotic
episode, a complete break with reality,
with hallucinations, paranoid ideation,
incredible surges of physical strength and
aggression that could not be subdued.
“Nervous breakdown” was the euphemism
used in those days. My father had taken
my mother to a psychiatric hospital.
We discovered as the weeks went on that
my mother had suffered from a rapid decrease
in estrogen that had upset the
chemistry in her brain and had created a
serious malfunction. She remained in the
hospital for six weeks, underwent electric
shock treatments which thankfully re-set
her brain functioning and with added estrogen
prescribed her biochemical imbalance
was eventually restored.
My mother never had another episode
again, and once she was stabilized she returned
to us as high functioning as always.
When she got out of the hospital,
she returned to her business as a hairdresser.
But, some of her regular cusSermon
tomers whom she had seen every week for
over 25 years stopped coming to her to do
their hair. Because my mother had spent
six weeks in a psychiatric hospital.
These customers’ reactions to my mother
astounded me then and astound me still.
My mother was the same person that her
customers had known for twenty-five
years. The same person whom they respected
and counted on to be there for
them week after week, doing their hair
just as she always had. She was no less
competent than she had ever been. But
now they saw her differently. She had
been stigmatized by a mental health
issue.
If she had been in the hospital with a
malfunctioning pancreas causing out of
control diabetes, or a malfunctioning
heart causing a heart attack would they
have refused to let her do their hair?
Probably not. But she had had a malfunctioning
brain.
This month, as many of you know, is
Mental Health Awareness month. The
subject is so vast I can only speak of one
infinitesimal aspect of the subject with
you today. There are issues of treatment,
medications, resources, the role of spirituality
and faith, the whole understanding
of what constitutes a mental illness,
even the issue of language itself and how
we might talk about it. Should we speak
about Mental Health, Mental Illness,
Brain Disorder, or just talk about “differences”
in brain functioning. It is important
that we increase our awareness of all
these issues and to continue to dialogue
about them.
Widen the Welcome: UCC for Mental Health -- Resource Guide for Mental Health Sunday
10
"Widening the Welcome”
Text: Galatians 4:14
The Rev. Martie McMane
First Congregational, UCC Church, Boulder, Colorado
Today, I simply want to crack the door
open a little wider in our awareness of
the stigma associated with mental health
issues and to invite us to the call of
widening the welcome to include an ever
broader spectrum of difference in our
faith community. I believe this is at the
center of our calling as a church if we are
seeking to follow in the way of Jesus.
I began with a story from my own life.
But how many families in our church do
you think have a loved one who struggles
with a serious, acute or chronic mental
health issue? That’s kind of a trick question.
Because most people don’t talk
about mental health issues, so there’s no
way of knowing.
People are still reluctant to talk about
their own struggles with mental health
issues or those of their loved ones, primarily
because our culture still stigmatizes
those who live with mental illness. This
makes it difficult to reach out and give
support that might be beneficial in the
healing process. It’s not the kind of illness
that the neighbors respond to with a
casserole; so often people are isolated and
alone.
Carlene Hill Byron, in a piece she wrote
for Vision New England’s Ministries with
the Disabled, says 1 in 4 households in
your church is afraid to tell you this secret.
She writes: “You’re more likely to
hear people describe their child’s condition
as “something like autism,” as the
elder of one church we know says. Or
they might cover up entirely, as does an
elder’s wife in another congregation.
When her daughter with bipolar disorder
swung into mania after childbirth, her
family, already managing the added responsibilities
of a newborn, had to manage
her mental health issue as well. But
because her illness was kept a secret, they
Sermon
Widen the Welcome: UCC for Mental Health -- Resource Guide for Mental Health Sunday
11
did so without any support from their
church beyond the usual “new baby” dinners.”
If this new mother had had any
other kind of medical condition, the family
would have let people know and no
doubt the church would have been able to
respond with more support.
“How many families in your church,”
asks Carlene, “have a loved one who
struggles with a serious, acute or chronic
mental health issue?” The answer to the
question, if your congregation is representative
of the United States population,
is one in four. “Look at the faces
seated around you this morning,” she
says. “Someone is probably hurting and
they’re afraid to tell you.”
NAMI, the National Alliance on Mental
Illness, is the largest grassroots mental
health organization dedicated to improving
the lives of individuals and families
affected by mental illness. NAMI teaches
us that “Mental illnesses are medical conditions
that disrupt a person’s thinking,
feeling, mood, ability to relate to others,
and daily functioning. Just as diabetes is
a disorder of the pancreas, mental illnesses
are medical conditions that often
result in a diminished capacity for coping
with the ordinary demands of life.
According to NAMI serious mental illnesses
include, but are not limited to,
major depression, schizophrenia, bipolar
disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder
(OCD), panic disorder, post traumatic
stress disorder (PTSD), and various anxiety
disorders. The good news about mental
illness is that recovery is possible; help
is available.
One of the best programs to help families
dealing with loved ones with a mental illness
is NAMI’s Family-to-Family program
– a twelve session program with
trained facilitators who offer tremendous
amounts of information and support. We
will be hosting this program for the second
time at our church in the fall.
Mental illnesses, or brain disorders, a terminology
some prefer, can affect persons
of any age, race, religion, or income.
Mental illnesses are not the result of personal
weakness, lack of character, too little
faith or lack of prayer. Most mental
illnesses are biologically based, and most
are treatable. Most people diagnosed with
a serious mental illness can experience relief
from their symptoms by actively participating
in an individual treatment
plan, and they can live productive lives
sharing their unique gifts with the world.
On the Mental Health Ministries website
there’s a whole section on famous people
who have contributed enormously to society
who suffered the symptoms of mental
illness, some before there was a name for
what chronically caused them distress.
People like Isaac Newton, Ludwig von
Beethoven, Abraham Lincoln, Winston
Churchill, Leo Tolstoy, Charles Dickens,
Michelangelo, Virginia Woolf, Jane Pauley,
Bet Midler – the list goes on and on.
Many of you know that the Apostle Paul
had some kind of chronic illness that he
refers to in his letters in Scripture. Some
people have surmised it was epilepsy,
which is a brain disorder, but we don’t
know because he never really talks about
the symptoms – just that it is recurring
and something he has had to learn to live
with. Some have speculated it was recurring
depression. We don’t know. But in
his letter to the early church in Galatia,
he writes something which is a model for
us in faith communities when he says,
“Even though my illness was a trial to
you, you did not treat me with contempt
or scorn. Instead, you welcomed me as if
I were an angel of God, as if I were
Christ Jesus himself.” (Galatians 4:14)
Sermon
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I am reminded of Jesus’ words to us,
“You did not choose me, but I chose you
to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last.”
The reducing of stigma around mental
illness is one of our callings as a faith
community. Stereotyping and stigmatizing
are two things we all are prone to do,
and we all need to examine our own
stereotypes and prejudices and work intentionally
to overcome them. This is a
faith issue for us, because in Christ there
are no distinctions, each person is welcomed
as a unique expression of the Divine
Creator, each one is called “the
beloved of God.”
Today we baptized two beautiful little
ones into Christ’s church universal. We
“signed and sealed them as Christ’s own
forever” which is a way of expressing
God’s unconditional love for them. We
welcomed them with open arms into our
community. We offer this welcome unconditionally.
And it is a welcome that we
are called to extend to all who come seeking
the blessed assurance of a loving God.
Our mental health task force here at
First Congregational Church is calling us
to a wider welcome, as we each begin to
understand that God has created us each
to be different, and different is not deficient,
it’s just different. As we learn to
create a safe place for people to share
their stories, as we offer services of healing
and groups for encouragement of one
another on the journey, the circle widens
and we can all be enriched by one another’s
perspectives, experiences, struggles,
and triumphs.
It has been a long time since my mother’s
breakdown. In those days we knew of no
churches where we could go and share
what was happening in our family. No
place where we could share our fears and
receive a word of encouragement and
hope. There was no one to bring us
casseroles. We were isolated and alone.
Sadly it is still true in too many churches
even today. I am so privileged to serve
this church whose welcome is so wide and
whose mental health task force is encouraging
us to continue to widen the welcome
so that people can find spiritual
support and a sense of community, so
that stigma can be reduced, and so that
the community itself can receive the
wondrous gifts that are the fruit of our
differences.
A Pastor’s Reflections
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“Welcome one another, as Christ has welcomed
you.” Surely Christ has welcomed
us, each with our own differences, each of
us bringing a new gift, a new story to our
community, each of our differences giving
new breadth to our horizons. May
that horizon grow wider and wider, until
we actually see each person just as Christ
sees us – as beloved children of God, each
one different, each one unique with a gift
to offer, signed and sealed as Christ’s own
forever.
“Providing Hope in Troubled Times for People with Brain Disorders”
Reflections by The Rev. Martie McMane,
Senior Minister, First Congregational Church, Boulder, Colorado
Certainly we expect our faith communities
to be sources of hope and support
whenever we are facing troubled times.
Over 30 years in ministry, I have many
parishioners who personally suffered
from brain disorders or who had a family
member who did. In 1982 in my little
small membership church – it had 35-50
in worship when I started, and that was
31 years ago now – I had seven people at
once who were hospitalized in institutions
in the Cleveland area, so I was baptized
by fire, as it were, in learning what
might be helpful to these people and their
families.
Here are some things that have been
helpful to me over the years as a pastor
trying to provide hope for people with
brain disorders and their families:
1. Having the knowledge that most mental
illness is treatable and needs to be
seen for the chemical imbalance that it is
– educating your congregation in whatever
way possible: forums, small group
classes, offering the NAMI training.
2. Becoming familiar with the different
disorders and their characteristics and
challenges.
3. Having good people to act as referrals,
particularly psychiatrists who are skilled
diagnosticians and people whom you can
trust with the intricacies of the pharmacological
aspects of treatment – getting
the medications right is an art as well as
a science, and it is important to have people
you trust to make the right diagnosis
and offer the best treatment plan.
4. Establishing a good relationship of
trust with the person, especially when
they are stable. For some of my parishioners,
this was crucial because they lived
alone and had no family or no family
near by. I got so that I could tell if things
were starting to decompensate for some
of my parishioners, because I became attuned
to subtle (and some not so subtle)
behaviors that were signs that they
needed to be checked for medication, and
could sometimes be taken to the doctor
and an episode could be caught early and
hospitalization avoided. This was easier
to do in a small congregation where I saw
a limited number of people on a regular
basis. But the more people with more
awareness, the more helpful we can become
as communities of care.
5. During hospitalization I found it important
to visit regularly, if the patient
would allow me to. I know some clergy
who are reluctant to visit in these situations
because they feel it doesn’t do any
good. It is easy to feel this way, because
the person isn’t “herself ” or “himself ”
and often will not remember whether you
ever came or not. It’s true that sometimes
when the episode subsides and the
person is stabilized they don’t remember
or don’t want to talk about it, but it is
still important. The ministry of presence,
of support, of simply listening and accepting
a person where they are is an important
aspect of healing. The clergy
person can often bring a sense of calm
and hope and peace with them to the situation.
I always ask if the person would
like me to offer prayer or to anoint them
with oil when touch or something more
tangible seems appropriate.
6. Checking in with other family members
at a time of hospitalization is also
important. Often they just need someone
to listen to them, to be given the re-assurance
that their loved one will get better,
that they are in a safe place with good
people attending them. Again, the acceptance
of the disorder as a medical
A Pastor’s Reflections
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condition of chemical imbalance is so important
to reducing stigma and helping a
family be a part of the healing process.
7. Help people with brain disorders feel
useful in your community. There are
many extremely high-functioning people
with brain disorders who are already contributing
much to your faith community
and you may or may not know they are
being treated for a brain disorder. However,
sometimes there are people whose
illness is debilitating and they can’t hold
jobs and can become very isolated. Connecting
them with others can be a lifesaver.
Finding a way for people to be useful
can help restore their confidence.
Finding some way for a person to do
tasks that are meaningful and ways they
can give to the community and feel connected
as a valuable part of your community
can be away to provide hope and
social support.
Just yesterday I heard one of the volunteers
in the congregation who was
working at our front desk say to a man
who came into the office, “What do you
do?”
“I’m a therapist,” he said.
“Oh,” the volunteer said, “I have
bipolar disorder, and I’ve been through
the mental health system here in Boulder
and at Chinook House, and look at me
now. I’m working at the desk being useful,
helping other people, and trying to
give back! My friends in this church have
given so much to me!”
And I thought about that, and I
thought, wow - you know that’s really
true – and I started thinking about it and
I could name several other people in our
church community for whom that same
kind of experience would be true.
8. From the spiritual perspective, I
have experienced that there is a power
greater than myself that is able to be
trusted to give comfort, guidance, support,
strength, and courage for facing
life’s difficulties. It is this spiritual presence,
however one names it, that is the
basis for our healing. And it’s simplest
name is Love. A knowing that you are
held by an eternal Love is a powerful
healing agent in and of itself. However
that can be communicated to others can
be a balm of supportive healing.
• Prayer
• Silence
• Music
• Anointing
• Ministry of Presence and Acceptance
• Readings: I have gone through the
A Pastor’s Reflections
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bible and made a list of 120 bible
verses that offer comfort, strength,
support, love and acceptance. I have
offered them as readings, I have also
cut them up into separate verses and
put them in a bowl and let people take
one and carry it with them as a special
verse to support them.
• Remembering to pray for those with
schizophrenia, bipolar illness, depression
– naming the illness publically
helps to reduce stigma, helps people
feel known, accepted, and supported,
and is a channel for healing
Perhaps you heard the poet, Elizabeth
Alexander, at the inauguration of President
Obama. Here are some lines from
her poem to encourage us all:
We need to find a place where we are safe; We walk into that which we cannot yet see.
Praise song for struggle; praise song for the day. Praise song for every hand-lettered sign;
The figuring it out at kitchen tables.
Some live by "Love thy neighbor as thy self."
Others by first do no harm, or take no more than you need.
What if the mightiest word is love, love beyond marital, filial, national. Love that casts a
widening pool of light. Love with no need to preempt grievance.
In today's sharp sparkle, this winter air, anything can be made, any sentence begun.
On the brink, on the brim, on the cusp -- praise song for walking forward in that light
Elizabeth Alexander
It’s both exciting and a bit overwhelming
to be before you today. I must admit that
it has been many, many years, okay
decades, since I could imagine myself in
front of a congregation. My journey with
God and my spiritual life has been checkered
to say the least. Yet, in some ways I
have always felt guided by God and the
tenets which Jesus espoused.
The last few sermons have dealt with
concepts which have truly resonated with
my journey with mental illness and recovery.
Several weeks ago, Martie talked
about the walls and detours our lives may
take. Jason talked about the scars we all
share. Like Jason, some of my scars are
visible (at least in certain contexts), but
others are invisible most of the time. For
those of us who live with serious mental
illness, many times our despair and pain
is lost on others. It is often not understood.
In 1987, after living with serious
mental illness for many years, I was finally
diagnosed with Type I Bipolar Disorder.
This is not a trivial diagnosis. For
many, it means years of isolation, unbearable
pain, loss of loved ones, and loss
of faith in God. For me, this diagnosis
embodied all of these elements, but it
also answered some unanswered questions
about my behavior and helped set
me on a path to recovery.
The journey was tumultuous. I lost many
A Congregant’s Reflections
friends, destroyed relationships as I
struggled with the ups and downs of my
life. I was fortunate that my family stood
by me and did not abandon me. When I
tell people I have survived cancer for 30
years, they congratulate me. The stigma
which once surrounded cancer is no
longer there and for that I am grateful.
However, my 40 or more year journey
learning to live with and control my
bipolar disorder has been the real challenge
and few have congratulated me on
that. I tried many different medications
before I found some that worked and continue
to work. Through therapy, I became
more aware of my triggers and red
flags as I called them which signaled to
me that I was on a path to mania or depression.
Until stability reigned more
supreme in my life, I was plagued by periods
of deep depression and psychotic
mania where I was disconnected from
most of the world. On one particular
night when my mania was in control of
my thoughts and reason, I remember
very strongly the presence of God with
me. I had, that night, just a very thin
line of sanity in my awareness. I felt as if
I were on a tightrope, keeping what little
sanity I had in balance. The urge was to
go outside and wander the streets of
Boulder, but I knew if I did that I was
putting not only myself at risk, but also
might cause distress to my family if I
didn’t return. I shut myself in our guest
Widen the Welcome: UCC for Mental Health -- Resource Guide for Mental Health Sunday
16
My Journey with Mental Illness and Spirituality
Presentation by Anne Weiher
The First Congregational Church, Boulder
June 5, 2011
In place of a sermon on Mental Health Sunday, consider inviting a person from your
congregation to speak from the pulpit about his or her mental illness. Another alternative
is to split the talk among three people: A person with a mental illness, a family
member (make sure they have asked permission to speak publicly about their loved
one’s illness) and a mental health professional. Below are the reflections shared by a
member of one congregation on living with a mental illness.
room and paced the floor almost all
night—hanging on to that slender thread
of sanity and feeling the presence of God
in my midst as I went round and round
that small room. Though I didn’t truly
understand it at the time, it is clear now
that through my entire journey, God did
not forsake me.
As time went on, I began to see the need
for community and got involved in a support
group for those touched in some way
with bipolar disorder. As I founded that
group, I was mindful of the phrase “faith
without works is dead.” I threw myself
into works and while this helped break
the isolation I was feeling and created a
community, I was neglecting my own
spiritual needs in the quest to help others.
One might say for some inexplicable reason,
I read about Craig Rennebohm’s
visit to Boulder. Others may say, it was
God leading me to a new spiritual home.
In any case, on a lonely Sat evening, I
found myself at First Congregational
Church in a spiritual support group.
Craig himself suffers from clinical depression
and has used his experience to reach
out to homeless and disenfranchised
street people in Seattle. I was tentative at
first. Everyone in the group seemed to be
family members. I wondered how folks
would react to one of those “crazies.” As
the evening wore on, I became more comfortable
and realized that I would probably
never see these folks again, so I might
as well be honest. In my honesty about
my life and journey with mental illness, I
found not derision, but love and compassion.
I left renewed in spirit and knowing
that I had a need for something more in
my life. I’d like to say that I came to
First Congregational right after that, but
it took almost a year before I began to attend
church. I chose First Congregational
because of the mental health ministry,
A Congregant’s Reflections
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17
knowing at some level that I wanted to
grow in my spiritual life and practice. As
time passed, I became involved in the spiritual
support group, again to fulfill a need
in myself and a need to practice my faith.
In many ways, my spiritual journey is in
its infancy, but I know I have found a
spiritual home. A couple of years ago,
Martie gave a sermon about mental illness
and recovery. She called mental illness,
the “no-casserole illness.” This is all
too true. When I’ve been hospitalized for
mental illness, few have come to see me,
even fewer have asked how I am doing
after the episode. In general, people ask
about my physical health, but not my
mental health which is still somewhat
precarious at times.
This congregation has reached out to me
in many ways. I grow spiritually when I
sit in church, be it the small intimate
gathering of the 8 a.m. service or the
larger service which meets in the beautiful
sanctuary where I feel the presence of all
those who have occupied this space for
almost 150 years. The spiritual support
group is another place where I can grow
in my journey with faith and also feel the
sense of community which has been so
important to my recovery. The Mental
Health Ministry of this church and its
commitment to it has also helped me expand
my faith. I am privileged to come to
a church that seeks to be inclusive of all,
regardless of the differences we all share.
I know the will is there to reach others
living with brain disorders or mental
health issues. The welcome I’ve received
can be extended to all and I am thankful
for this community, the vision of the
mental health ministry, and its ongoing
work which encourages me to grow in my
faith. My coming out to you today is another
way in which I can grow spiritually
and hopefully help reduce the stigma sur-
rounding mental illness. Our mental
health ministry is small, but we are passionate
and dedicated. If the spirit moves
you, we would love to have you become
involved in that endeavor. If you or your
loved one lives will mental illness and you
have ideas about how we can reach out to
them, let us know. This church has been a
leader in the movement to include spirituality
in the recovery process from mental
illness, but I am sure there is more we
can do. We can sincerely ask someone
how they are doing in their journey with
mental illness. We can visit them in the
hospital or at home if they so desire. We
can recognize the tremendous strength
and courage it takes to live every day
with mental health challenges and applaud
and congratulate those on their
journey. We can look within ourselves, at
Suggested Hymns
Widen the Welcome: UCC for Mental Health -- Resource Guide for Mental Health Sunday
18
our own stereotypes and misconceptions
and can educate ourselves about mental
health issues so that we can truly emphasize
with those who struggle.
My gratitude to the Mental Health Ministry,
to Alan Johnson, Bill Forbes, Jason,
and Martie, who had faith in me that I
could stand here before you, knows no
bounds. My personal commitment is to
speak out about my experiences, to let
people know that recovery is possible and
that belonging to an understanding and
open faith community can help me
strengthen my commitment to changing
the face of mental illness. From the bottom
of my heart, I thank you all for your
presence here, your attention, and your
love and support.
Amazing Grace
Words: John Newton;
Tune: NEW BRITAIN
Bless God, O my Soul
Words: Russell E. Sonafrank;
Tune: SPRING WOODS
Help Us Accept Each Other
Words: Fred Kaan;
Tune: AURELIA
Healer of Our Every Ill
Words and music: Marty Haugen
In the Bulb There is a Flower
Words: Natalie Sleeth;
Tune: PROMISE
On Eagle’s Wings
Words and Music: Michael Joncas
Come and Find the Quiet Center
Words: Shirley Erena Murray;
Tune: BEACH SPRING
Take, O Take Me As I Am
Words and music: John Bell
My Life Flows on in Endless Song (How
Can I keep from Singing)
Words and music Robert Lowry
Lord of All Hopefulness
Words: Jan Struther; Tune: SLANE
O Love That Will Not Let Me Go
Words: George Matheson; Tune: ST.
MARGARET
Won’t You Let Me Be Your Servant
Words and music: Richard Gillard
O God in Whom All Life Begins
Words: Carl P. Daw, Jr.; Tune: NOEL
SUGGESTED HYMNS
DO:
Be careful to respect your congregants’
confidentiality. Many people with mental
illness have endured stigma for many
years. They may not want others to know
they have a mental illness, so always
check with the person before talking
about his or her illness publicly.
Watch your language. Avoid stigmatizing
words like “crazy,” “nuts” and “psycho.”
Listen without being judgmental or offering
advice.
Talk to your congregants of God’s
unconditional love for them and your
care and concern for them.
Pray for balance in their lives and tolerance
in yours.
Gently educate those who spread
misinformation about mental illness or
perpetuate negative stereotypes.
Treat persons affected by mental illness
and their families with compassion, not
condescension. Most don’t want pity, just
understanding and support.
Educate yourself about mental illness
and learn to identify individuals who
need more than spiritual counseling.
Refer them to appropriate mental health
professionals.
Helpful Hints
DON’T:
Don’t tell a person with mental illness to
just pray harder. That would not be
appropriate advice for someone with
cancer or a heart condition, and it is not
appropriate for someone with mental
illness. Mental illnesses are biologically
based and frequently respond well to
medications, just like other disorders.
Don’t use shame or guilt as a motivator.
For many who suffer from mental illness,
shame and inappropriate guilt may exacerbate
their problems.
Don’t look down on persons with mental
illness for using medications to control
their symptoms. Someone with depression
using antidepressants is no different
from someone with diabetes using
insulin.
Don’t forget to find simple ways to support
family members and friends of people
living with a mental illness. Your
supportive listening can be healing itself.
Don’t shy away from talking with a
person who has let it be known they are
living with a mental illness/mental health
challenge.
Widen the Welcome: UCC for Mental Health -- Resource Guide for Mental Health Sunday
19
POINTERS FOR SUCCESSFUL CONVERSATIONS ABOUT MENTAL HEALTH
Conversations about mental health, both public and private, sometimes can be complicated
and difficult, especially in a religious context. Below are some Do’s and
Don’ts that may help you navigate the awkwardness.
Some of the above content was adapted from an article by Lutz, Jan, “The ‘Do’s and
‘Don’t’s of Ministry,” published by NAMI FaithNet.
Bulletin insert front:
Bulletin Insert
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simple things
you can do
to make the world a better place
for people with mental illnesses
and their families
Be a friend
Provide companionship and compassion on the road toward recovery.
Offer a ride to church or to a local support group. Listen
without judgement. Pray for those you know with mental illnesses
and for their family members.
Be an inspiration
Share your story. Has mental illness impacted you or your family
in some way? Your story may empower others to seek treatment
or have hope.
Watch your language
Pay attention to the words you use and avoid stigmatizing labels.
Do not refer to people as "crazy," "psycho," "lunatic" or "mental."
Be a "StigmaBuster"
Challenge negative attitudes toward mental illness among your
friends and acquaintances and in the media.
Learn the facts
Educate yourself about the various mental illnesses. Attend a lecture
or class or use the Internet. Good places to start include the
National Alliance on Mental Illness, www.nami.org, and the National
Institute of Mental Health, www.nimh.nih.gov.
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Download a pdf file of the bulletin insert at mhn-ucc.blogspot.com
Bulletin insert back:
Bulletin Insert
Widen the Welcome: UCC for Mental Health -- Resource Guide for Mental Health Sunday
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Mental illnesses are medical conditions.
Research has shown that mental illness has a biological basis.
Mental illnesses are brain disorders associated with changes in the
brain's structure, chemistry and function, which in turn affects
how a person thinks, feels and acts.
One in every four adults is affected by mental illness.
The National Institute of Mental Health reports that one in four
adults in the U.S. experiences some kind of mental health
disorder in a given year. However, the main burden of illness is
concentrated in a much smaller proportion. Approximately 1 in 17
Americans, or about 13.6 million people, live with a serious
mental illness such as schizophrenia, major depression or bipolar
disorder.
Stigma prevents many people from seeking treatment.
Approximately 60 percent of adults and almost one-half of youth
ages 8 to 15 with a mental illness received no mental health services
in the previous year. In some locations, services simply are not
available or are not affordable to the people who need them. In
many cases, people avoid treatment because of the fear of stigma.
Treatment works and recovery is possible.
There is no “cure” for mental illness, but with effective treatment
(which may include medication, therapy, other services and support),
most people experience relief from their symptoms and live
productive, fulfilling lives.
Most people with mental illness are not violent.
The most common form of violence by those who have mental illness
is violence against themselves. People with serious mental
illnesses are far more likely to be victims of violent crime than
perpetrators of it.
Did you know...?
Download a pdf file of the bulletin insert at mhn-ucc.blogspot.com
Make sure you know when to refer
people to mental health professionals and
where to refer them when the need arises.
Learn more at
www.CaringClergyProject.org/makingreferrals.html.
You can also refer congregants
and family members to a variety of
support groups and classes.
Stay in touch with the person with
mental illness and his or her family after
you make a referral. People with mental
illness and their family members need
your ongoing support.
Encourage your congregation to treat
people with mental illnesses the same
way they treat people with other illnesses.
Offer to visit them when they are
hospitalized. With their permission, ask
your members to send them cards and
bring them casseroles when they are ill.
Plan a specific day for your congregation
to focus on mental health (either October
20 or another Sunday). Say specific
prayers for people with schizophrenia,
bipolar disorder, anxiety disorders, depression
and other mental illnesses.
Talk about mental illness in your sermons,
classes, and adult forums, especially
when you are addressing
compassionate outreach, social justice
and erasing stigma and discrimination.
Talking openly about mental illnesses reduces
the grip of stigma. Emphasize the
biological nature of brain disorders and
remind your congregations that they can
affect anyone, regardless of age, race, religion
or income. Mental illnesses are not
the result of personal weakness, lack of
character or poor upbringing.
9 Ways You Can Help
Educate your congregation. Use the
resource kits at mhn-ucc.blogspot.com or
bring in speakers from NAMI (National
Alliance on Mental Illness), the medical
community and your local mental health
center. Run a series of articles in your
congregation's newsletter. Show videos on
the subject and then encourage your congregation
to discuss the issues raised.
If you have a peace and justice ministry,
encourage them to get involved in
the systemic problems that affect people
with mental illness. More people with
mental illnesses are in jails and prisons
than are in mental hospitals. Programs
for people with mental illnesses are under
funded and axed quickly when budgets
need to be cut. Many chronically homeless
people have chronic mental illnesses.
Housing and jobs are critical to the
recovery process. Encourage members of
your community to help find jobs and
provide housing options for people with
mental illnesses.
Start a spiritual support group in
your faith community for people with
mental health challenges and their families.
For resources that will help you
structure the support group, go to
www.caringclergyproject.org/howyourfaithcommunitycanhelp.html.
This content was adapted from a handout
developed by the Interfaith Network on
Mental Illness.
Widen the Welcome: UCC for Mental Health -- Resource Guide for Mental Health Sunday
22
9 Things Faith Community Leaders Can Do to Make
The World a Better Place for People with Mental Illnesses
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ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
Mental Health Ministries (www.mentalhealthministries.net) provides educational resources
to help erase the stigma of mental illness in our faith communities.
The Caring Clergy Project website (www.caringclergyproject.org) offers videos and
other resources designed specifically for faith community leaders.
NAMI FaithNet (www.nami.org/faithnet) is a network of members and friends of the
National Alliance on Mental Illness. It was established to help faith communities develop
non-threatening, supportive environment for those with serious mental illness
and their families. You can subscribe to a free newsletter and explore their newsletter
archives for many insightful articles about faith and mental illness.
Pathways to Promise (http://www.pathways2promise.org) is an interfaith cooperative
that provide assistance and resources, including liturgical and educational materials,
program models and caring ministry with people experiencing a mental illness and
their families.
The Congregational Resource Guide (http://www.mentalhealthministries.net/resources/faith_group_resources/congregational_resource_guide.pdf)
by Carole Wills is
an extensive and fully annotated list of more than 60 mental health ministry resources,
including books and videos.
The Interfaith Network on Mental Illness (www.interfaithnetworkonmentalillness.org)
aims to increase awareness and understanding of mental illness among clergy, staff,
lay leaders and members of faith communities and help them more effectively develop
and nurture supportive environments for persons dealing with mental illnesses
and their families and friends.
Additional Resources
Widen the Welcome: UCC for Mental Health -- Resource Guide for Mental Health Sunday
23
This Resource Guide was developed by a subcommittee recruited by the
UCC Mental Health Network. Contributors include:
The Rev. Martie McMane
The Rev. Alan Johnson
The Rev. Heather Haginduff
The Rev. Lorraine Leist
Wendy Kidd, M. Div.
Anne Weiher, Ph.D.
Joanne Kelly
Content in the guide is also available as separate pdf or Word files at
mhn-ucc.blogspot.com
This resource guide was edited and designed by Joanne Kelly, member of the UCC Mental
Health Network and cofounder of the Interfaith Network on Mental Illness.
The United Church of Christ Mental Health Network (UCC MHN) works
to reduce stigma and promote the inclusion of people with mental
illnesses/brain disorders and their families in the life and work of
congregations.
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