Supportive Faith Communities Break Mental Health Stigma

By Rev. Dorothy S. Boulware | Word In Black (WIB) – It is easy to detect mental health challenges when they seem extreme — like complete breakdowns or violent explosions. And while there has been a growing call for mental health professionals to work alongside law enforcement to respond to such incidents, faith communities play a vital role, too. “In reality, the church is tasked with caring for the whole person — body, mind, and soul — and that means we must recognize and care for a person with an illness. The church can speak into the soul and personhood of the individual in ways that medical professionals cannot,” according to Hope for Mental Health, a group that helps congregations formalize their ministry to the whole person. But it is more difficult to recognize and respond when mental health is challenged by anxiety becoming agitation, by exhaustion escalating into emotional outbursts or stress stretching into sleeplessness. So as much as vigilant maintenance is required to sustain physical and spiritual health, it is doubly required to keep mental and emotional systems running at optimum health. Morning Star Baptist Church in Catonsville, Maryland responded some time ago by opening the Renaissance Counseling...