W.I.S.E.: Mental Health & Faith
Written by Jackie Henry for our 20th Anniversary Celebration
Research shows that “one in four Americans experience some form of mental illness in a given year. One in 17 Americans lives with a serious and persistent mental illness.” It begs the question, “How does our faith and spirituality intersect with mental health?” Rev. Dr. Sarah Lund puts the answer to that question this way, “This is what I know: when we break the silence about mental illness, we break free. We break free from feeling like we are the only ones. We break free from perfectionism. We break free from toxic spirituality and theology that says mental illness is God’s punishment for sin. We break free from shame that says we did something wrong. In our freedom, we experience the fullness of God’s grace and mercy.”
In an effort to energize UCC congregations (nationally) to support mentally-ill people in their midst, the 2015 General Synod of the greater United Church of Christ overwhelmingly adopted a resolution to develop a network of churches that are welcoming, inclusive, supportive and engaged (WISE) for mental health.
High Country UCC had already begun answering this call in 2012 with their first Mental Health Sunday and responded to the 2015 UCC General Synod call with a resounding “yes.” Through the initiative of a cloud of HCUCC witnesses studying together, a steering team developing the W.I.S.E Commitment, the church voted to accept this document November 2020 and then was formally recognized in 2021 by the UCC General Synod with the designation as a W.I.S.E. congregation. This journey towards incorporating mental health into our ministry has been ongoing for half of the church’s existence.
A W.I.S.E. church is a congregation which is required to create a W.I.S.E. Commitment or Covenant to be purposefully Welcoming, Inclusive, Supportive, and Engaged in the mental health of the community and the wider world. Coming after months of purposeful study and conversation, the congregation voted to adopt our commitment in November 2020. As a collective denomination that is committed to the idea that God is still speaking, we are always looking for what is being left out? Who is being left out? Where is God speaking and are we missing the message?
In this way, High Country UCC has constantly had its ear to the ground listening to the voices which may be too soft – or too daunting for us to hear directly. As we sensitize ourselves to the many ways that God is still speaking and discern our particular call, this church has heard the cries of those who deal with mental health challenges on a sometimes daily, sometimes moment to moment basis. It’s not always immediately apparent that a person may be suffering, so we believe that we have been summoned to look closer and dig deeper to find ways to be the supportive, inclusive community we want to be to the suffering among us.
In our listening, a year later, we followed the 2020 W.I.S.E. Commitment with a purposeful “Relational Covenant” deepening our intentionality of behavior and engagement with one another. HCUCC has made this commitment to meet those who may have mental illness challenges where they are and this church has taken a formal stance to be a light in the mental health arena. The High Country UCC W.I.S.E. Team prayerfully and thoughtfully created a relational covenant after meeting with many in the congregation.
The relational covenant that was accepted congregationally in 2021 not only holds each of us to a higher standard with each other, but also to those in our community. We strive to be a role model for each other as well as a role model to our mountain community regarding those who may be suffering with mental health issues.
Relational Covenant
The relational covenant created by the WISE Team over literally months of study and discussion, stresses the importance of being in relation with each other, as well as stressing our commitment to seeing the divine in each individual person. The covenant emphasizes having an open mind, retaining an open curiosity, rather than folding into judgment. The 12-point Relational Covenant is our guide as we ever strive to increase our responsiveness to others. While the guide is a model for how to advance our own responsiveness to each other – it’s not a model in perfection, but a “go-to” reference when we interact with each other in meaningful yet possibly conflictual ways. (If you don’t have a copy of the relational covenant, they are available outside the sanctuary. You are encouraged to pick one up!)
For some of us, mental health challenges are a way of life, while for some, mental health challenges may feel like an alien topic. All of us have been conditioned in one way or another to find the topic of mental health to be something of a taboo topic. The stigma of mental illness is something we continually name and seek to undo. Our W.I.S.E. congregation is making a conscious effort to meet each other and our community where people are -- and not where we think they “should” be. We are committed to learning more and becoming more intimately educated in what mental health encompasses so that we can better meet needs that may be uniquely presented to this congregation.
WELCOMING
A W.I.S.E. congregation is committed to welcoming those who may be facing a mental health challenge with compassion and openness to hearing their story. The welcoming could absolutely include finding a member of the committee to assist in any immediate need that may arise. Welcoming also suggests that we will be aware of our own biases that could interrupt our ability to be as welcoming as we otherwise could be. (W.I.S.E. Commitment #15.)
INCLUSIVE
Beyond welcoming, we want to be a church that demonstrates that we are willing to reach out with acceptance to our entire community, understanding that we are limited by our own histories and experiences, but willing to listen with our hearts as well as our ears. Offering silence for people to process a situation or conversation, as well as offering space for people to speak is a way of honoring the multitude of ways that people bring their individual process and relational styles to the table (W.I.S.E. Commitment #8)
SUPPORTIVE
Our support of those in our church, our community and the world with mental health challenges has taken us in the direction of looking at ways we can support agencies that work with reducing the harm of substance abuse, and have worked to lighten the load of people who have come to the church’s attention as suffering with mental health challenges - as well as their loved ones and their caregivers. Support can happen in so many ways; such as, we can support those who are caregivers, those who are working to improve their own mental health, and through actively listening – or speaking mindfully to each other. (Relational Covenant #9)
ENGAGED/EDUCATION
Our W.I.S.E. community looks for ways to educate ourselves in ways that will support our mission. We seek out mental health resources that assist us in understanding mental health issues more thoroughly and look for ways to share that information with others. It is so much harder to be compassionate when we don’t understand where another person is coming from. Educating is one of the best ways to “walk a mile in another human’s shoes.” Additionally, educating can take the form of improving our own knowledge about our own mental health and personality style. Programs on the enneagram, Myers-Briggs personality test, and understanding family systems that have been offered to the church and the church council are ways that we can come to understand ourselves more comprehensively.
“In India when we meet and part we often say, “Namasté,” which means: I honor the place in you where the entire universe resides; I honor the place in you of love, of light, of truth, of peace. I honor the place within you where, if you are in that place in you, and I am in that place in me, there is only one of us. Namasté”
― Ram Dass, Grist for the Mill: Awakening to Oneness
God is still speaking, and we look forward to discerning the ways that God is speaking to this community of faith in the next 20 years!
