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May is Mental Health Awareness Month in the United States. Just as Jesus healed people struggling with mental, emotional and physical ailments,
United Methodists reach out to their sisters and brothers who seek
healing. In this series, United Methodist News Service shares stories of individuals and congregations tackling the challenges of mental health through a variety of ministries.
A UMNS Report
By Barbara Dunlap-Berg*
7:00 A.M. ET May 2, 2013 | OAK LAWN, Ill.
A United Methodist Board of Church and Society web-only graphic by Michelle Whittaker.
Pastors of three congregations with widely divergent demographics
agree on at least one thing: Mental illness affects everyone, and
United Methodists need to address the issue.
All three clergy, along with several of their peers, will
participate in two days of intensive training at First United Methodist
Church, Oak Lawn, on May 3-4. Called the Mental Health Initiative, the pilot program offers two training opportunities for the Northern Illinois Annual (regional) Conference.
“Mental Health First Aid” focuses on recognizing and responding to
mental-health concerns through education, compassion and steps to
assist a person who is struggling. In “Caring Congregation Ministries,”
participants will learn how to create a hands-on congregational
ministry on mental health.
The Rev. Rodney C. Walker signed up for Mental Health First Aid. He serves Grace Calvary United Methodist Church on Chicago’s South Side.
Mental health challenges, Walker said, are barriers to a full
quality of life. They influence “family life and community wellness and
are a major source of social problems.” These difficulties “affect the
church as well and how we – as people of faith – should respond to our
brothers and sisters.
“We have a member who is bipolar,” Walker added, “and we welcome him
in our congregation. When he is off his medication, we must take
special care to engage him. All of our members have embraced him.
He seems to find comfort in the midst of worship.”
Grace Calvary is situated in an urban, inner-city, predominantly
African-American community facing high unemployment, frequent home
foreclosures, high crime, poor schools and an aging population. The
118-member church averages 50 worshippers each Sunday.
‘It’s time to remove the fear’
“The biggest challenge as a congregation,” Walker said, “is
developing ministries which improve the quality of life for non-church
members while presenting the gospel of Jesus Christ to them.”
Finding ways to reach out to persons struggling with mental illness is a
priority for a growing number of United Methodist congregations. A UMNS
photo illustration by Kathleen Barry.
View in Photo Gallery
Walker is participating in the Mental Health Initiative to learn
“how better to serve people with mental health challenges and how to
start a recovery meeting within the church.”
Registered for the “Caring Congregations” workshop are the Rev. Robert A. Atkins Jr., Grace United Methodist Church, Naperville, Ill., and the Rev. Diana K. Otterbacher, Zion United Methodist Church, Hampshire, Ill.
Currently, Atkins’ congregation of more than 2,400 strongly supports
pastoral counseling services in the community. Naperville, an affluent
Chicago suburb, has many social service resources available.
“We are looking to develop a multi-part strategy within the
congregation as part of, or alongside, our Open Doors Ministry with
families and caregivers of children and youth who have special needs,”
Atkins said. “We need a framework on best practices to develop a plan.”
In DuPage County, Atkins said, “it is estimated that more than
77,000 out of 1 million-plus individuals have a mental health issue or
that it affects one out of four families. This would have a
huge effect on our congregation with 700-plus families,
if the county demographics are the same as our congregation.”
During the two-day event, Atkins hopes to learn “what best
practices are needed to formulate a plan such as professional referral
system, mental-health evaluation for the correct diagnosis, jobs for
the mentally ill and housing guidelines for the mentally ill.”
Located an hour northwest of Chicago, Hampshire “is a traditional
small town with a majority of German Catholic background,” Otterbacher
said. The former Evangelical United Brethren congregation of 142
doesn’t have a mental health ministry. However, Otterbacher believes
mental illness “is more common than folks realize. It’s time to remove
the fear.”
‘Mental illness continues to be stigmatized’
She said several church members take medication for clinical
depression. “My husband was bipolar,” she said, “and we learned how to
live with that, so I try to be understanding with others dealing with
those issues. I care about folks with mental health issues.”
At the Mental Health Initiative, she hopes to learn how to start a program and reach out to the community.
Awareness and openness are essential, said the Rev. Cynthia Abrams, who oversees health-care ministries at the United Methodist Board of Church and Society.
“Many individuals with mental illness and their families are silent
because mental illness continues to be stigmatized in our society and
in the church,” she said. “It is critically important for churches
to be educated and loving so that families and individuals know the
church cares about them in the midst of their struggles.
“Becoming a Caring Community church is an intentional and accountable path toward effective and compassionate response to people with mental illnesses.”
The Rev. Cheryl Magrini,
co-leader of the May 3-4 event, added, “A friend who has dealt with
mental illness recently told me he no longer attends church because of
feeling judged by the Scripture selection and the preaching and because
people avoided him during passing of the peace.
“In order for people struggling with mental health to be treated
with dignity and understanding, for change to happen in access to
mental health services and for congregations to educate and to support
family and friends,” she said, “faith communities must embrace both
public advocacy and holistic congregational ministries for mental health
concerns that touch the mind, body and spirit.
“In developing the Mental Health Initiative, it is my hope that
congregations will step out with prophetic ministries reaching into
both the public and personal arenas of mental health concerns.”
*Dunlap-Berg is internal content editor at United Methodist Communications, Nashville, Tenn.
News media contact Barbara Dunlap-Berg at (615) 742-5470 or newsdesk@umcom.org.