Flourishing Congregations Institute reposted this
With one in five Canadians experiencing a mental illness, many of us are impacted by mental health in some way—through our own lived experience, or by learning about the unique challenges of individuals sitting next to us in church pews. But how is the Church responding? How is our understanding and perception of mental health and illness shaping our church cultures? Do church leaders and congregants feel equipped to support people experiencing mental health challenges and illnesses? Do churchgoers living with mental health challenges feel supported in their faith communities? If this sounds like something you want to learn more about, you aren’t alone! These are the exact questions we explored in our recent research with the Flourishing Congregations Institute. You can read the summary in our latest blog at https://hubs.la/Q02YJKLc0. Here is a quick look at the key findings: 🌿 Canadian churches are moving towards a thicker, more holistic understanding of mental health and illness, but there is still room for growth. 🌿 Leaders and congregants want church communities to feel more equipped to support individuals with lived experience. However, churches aren’t offering many opportunities for people to learn or share about mental health challenges. 🌿 There is a felt need for churches to broaden the scope of mental health support beyond pastoral care. As a reminder, we’ll be having a conversation on Facebook Live with Joel Thiessen of Flourishing Congregations Institute today (Tuesday, November 19) at 3:00pm PST. Join us as we unpack some of these findings and what they mean for the Church today: https://hubs.la/Q02YJG2g0 #SanctuaryMentalHealth #SanctuaryMentalHealthMinistries #MentalHealth #MentalHealthAndFaith #FaithAndMentalHealth #ChurchMentalHealth #ChristianMentalHealth #ChristianityAndMentalHealth #Church #ChurchResource #ChurchResearch #Pastors
