A Guide for Talking to Your Congregation: Supporting Meaningful Congregational Conversations on the Importance of Mental Wellness
Mental health is a concern across the country. However, access to mental health services is not equitable.
Access is often determined by income, where you live, awareness of local services, education about mental health and illness, and the stigma surrounding mental health.
Congregations and community partnerships are vital to improving the use of mental health services and reducing its stigma. We regularly hear that congregations need tools to help address these needs.
For use during Advent or Ordinary Time, the Journey Toward Mental Wellness sermon guide and toolkit was designed to help faith leaders begin meaningful conversations on the importance of mental health. In this sermon guide, we define mental health as something we all have. It’s a person’s psychological and emotional well-being. Having great physical, spiritual, and mental health is key to ensuring that communities thrive.
In this toolkit, you will find resources on connecting others to behavioral health services. You will also find sermons on mental health and exercises to start thoughtful discussion with your congregation.
Ultimately, we hope this guide will help your congregation create a stigma-free, supportive environment that will encourage those affected to seek help.
We’d love to hear from you! Did you use the sermon guide and/or toolkit? Would you be willing to share your feedback and experiences? Would you consider recording a brief video to share? Questions or suggestions? Please send us an email at hcnews@healthfund.org.
If you need help right now, you can reach the Kansas Suicide Prevention center 24/7 every day at 785-841-2345 or the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline 800-273-8255 (TALK). Calls are free and confidential.
National and Kansas Resources
- National Alliance on Mental Illness:
- Kansas Suicide Prevention HQ
- LGBT National Help Center
- National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, available in English and Spanish
- Resources to Recover Kansas resources
- Suicide Prevention Resource Center Kansas information
- The Trevor Project counseling support for LGBTQ youth
Journey Toward Mental Wellness Social Media Tiles
Below are social media tiles to help you promote the series. We would love to know if you use the guide—please tag us on Twitter or Facebook (@umhealthfund).
