Our Selah’s Team Members’ Perspectives on Faith and Mental Health, and Caring for Pastors Our Selah is a Zoom-based, sister ministry of Light for the Darkness (L4TD) that serves clergy. It was created in response to a pastor’s plea and the current state of clergy. According to a 2021 Barna Research study, only 35% of pastors are healthy and almost half…
Waiting for a mental health gem? Wondering how you were going to work on your heart, your mind, and your soul fitness to do your best at the Greatest Commandment? This is it–Living Life. Our new six-week, faith-based, skills support group that Rev. Stephanie Allen (MDiv, MSW) and Kevin Jones (MAC, PLPC) have crafted collaboratively is going to lift people…
In Sunday’s gospel, John 14:15-21, Jesus said, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” The GREATEST commandment is ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind–‘ the biggest “to do” of the Christian faith! How many of us hear we need to “work harder” at loving God…
Why are mental health awareness and mental health care important? While 14k die in the US from hunger each year, approximately 8 million die from mental health variances yearly, but this is not something we talk about. 67 percent of the homeless have mental health variances; if we can help stabilize people before they lose their homes, we are preventing homelessness instead…
May Mental Health Awareness Blogs brought to you by Light 4 the Darkness The Uninvited Guest just appears–entitled, bossy and ever so critical. They follow me incessantly, like flies on dung, and know just what to say to keep me isolated: “It’s warm here in bed and you can’t make things worse from here. You’ll have to contrive a smile…
Blog Post by Rev. Thirza Sayers Pastor Hillside Presbyterian Church, Light for the Darkness, Our Selah Due to the isolation and anxiety caused by the pandemic and the fear, violence, and uncertainty caused by the war in Ukraine, many of us have personally experienced mental health variances in the past few years. Few of us have weathered this storm completely…
Blog Post by Rev. Thirza Sayers Pastor to Hillside Presbyterian, Light for the Darkness, and Our Selah Light 4 the Darkness Begins Ministry to Pastors and Chaplains: Our Selah Startling stats: “38% of U.S. pastors have thought about quitting full-time ministry in the past year.”[1] In 2016, 85% of pastors rated their mental health as good or above. By Barna’s…
Blog Post by Rev. Steve Matthews Pastor of First Presbyterian Church – Ste. Genevieve, Missouri Moderator of New Worshiping Communities Commission When I joined the Giddings-Lovejoy Presbytery as a newly installed pastor in 2016, one of my first experiences was being approached by Barbara Willock and being asked if I would be willing to serve on a presbytery committee or…
Given generally growing mental health needs, especially due to stressors related to the pandemic, Light for the Darkness and the Presbytery of Giddings-Lovejoy will offer Mental Health First Aid training. We encourage pastors, deacons, elders, youth leaders, and anyone interested in mental health to attend. Please share this and spread the word. What is Mental Health First Aid? Mental Health…