JERE BRANDS: Faith communities can be bridges of hope

EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the final installment in a series of columns focusing on mental health. This week is Mental Illness Awareness Week.

“People with mental health problems are our neighbors. They are members of our congregations, members of our families. They are everywhere in this country…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

Former First Lady Rosalynn Carter has been an advocate for mental health for over 40 years. Her work began during her husband’s campaign for governor when a Georgia citizen pulled her aside and asked her to advocate for positive change in the mental health treatment system.

Since one in four families is touched by mental illnesses, faith communities can expect to be affected in the same numbers. A recent survey found that 60 percent of individuals with a mental health concern turn first to a spiritual leader for help in finding resources. Yet, often clergy training does not include access to resources for mental health. Many mental illnesses are chronic, meaning that sustained support is needed over a long period of time for individuals and for their family members.

Several resources are available to members of faith communities on the Internet.

MentalHealthMinistries.net is a non-denominational organization which addresses the needs of faith leaders. The Congregational Resource Guide found on this website offers a full range of resources.

Pathways to Promise: Putting Faith in Mental Health Recovery (www.pathways2promise.org) was founded by a collaborative of 14 faith groups and mental health organizations. Pathways has formed Mental Health Training Collaboratives in five U.S .communities. The website serves as a resource center for all faiths.

NAMI Faithnet (www.nami.org/faithnet) is a network of NAMI members and friends who are dedicated to building caring faith communities and recognizing the importance of spiritual involvement in recovery. The site includes practical sample responses to situations often faced by clergy. To access the Faith and Spirituality Discussion Group on this website, a user name and password must be created. NAMI membership is not required.

“There is no shame in diabetes, there is no shame in high blood pressure, but why is it that if our brains stop working, there is supposed to be shame in that?”

— Rick Warren

In response to his son Matthew’s tragic death after 27 years living with a mental illness, Pastor Rick Warren and his wife, Kay, launched a public campaign to bring mental health ministries into the church at large. The first Gathering on Mental Health and the Church in 2014 was co-sponsored by Saddleback Church, Roman Catholic Bishop Kevin Vann, and the local affiliate of NAMI, the National Alliance on Mental Illness. The most recent two-day gathering just concluded on Friday. The work continues, focusing on opening up the topic of mental illness to learning and discussion, sweeping secrecy and stigma out of church doors.

Faith leaders themselves are not immune to mental illness. Stigma here can be even stronger, forcing a clergy member to struggle in secret. In 2013, members of Bibb Mt. Zion Baptist Church in Macon did not know that their beloved pastor lived with a mental illness until he died by suicide. At least 90 percent of suicide deaths are related to mental illness, often untreated or hidden.

Johnny Tuttle, lay pastoral leader at the Episcopal Church of St. John and St. Mark in Albany, sees mental health support as the work of all the church: “We cannot forget that Jesus both healed people of their physical or mental illness and restored them to the communities that had ostracized them. The church must bear witness and be a source of hope and support. ” Recently members’ donations made it possible for St. John and St. Mark to be a major sponsor of NAMIWalks Southwest Georgia, the annual event which funds local NAMI outreach and programming.

Knowledgeable and caring faith communities can be bridges of hope for those faced with mental health challenges. Members of NAMI Albany and the Southwest Georgia Suicide Prevention Coalition are interested in working together with faith communities. Please contact NAMI Albany if you are interested in such a collaboration: [email protected] or P.O. Box 72446, Albany, GA 31708.

NAMI Albany members can also present awareness and education programs. To discuss or schedule such programs, contact Pam Barfield: [email protected] or 229-343-8791.

“In the Kingdom of God there is neither Jew nor Greek, persons with schizophrenia, nor dementia, only people loved equally by God and called to live humanly” — “Resurrecting the Person: Friendship and Care of People with Mental Health Problems” by John Swinton.

Jere Brands is president of NAMI Albany, the local affiliate of the National Alliance on Mental Illness.