Christians don’t
have to face
mental illness alone
Chaplaincy advocates friendship circles and education
By Nan
McKenzie Kosowan
Special to ChristianWeek
KITCHENER, ON–The casual atmosphere of a Kitchener coffee shop is good for a Christian in emotional and mental turmoil, one who feels like a stranger in a familiar church pew, and fears the stigma of his illness in eyes of fellow believers who don’t understand.
Smiling encouragement, listening and responding patiently, chaplain Beth Hennessy of the Interchurch Chaplaincy Project (ICCP) is a link to Christian compassion and support needed desperately by this largely neglected group of Christians–adults with mental illness.
This is Hennessy’s pulpit, but she doesn’t preach. "I’m ‘Switzerland,’ a neutral listener, encouraging talk about what’s going on in their lives with as much comfort and little pressure as possible," she explains. "And perhaps I can help them process some things."
An experienced mental health social worker, she gives feedback if asked and speaks out if a doctor or therapist seems needed. An ordained pastor, she offers pastoral friendship, delving into spiritual issues people bring up, especially around suffering and the desire to reinforce connections with God.
Promises don’t negate suffering
"I’m no Bible thumper," Hennessy says, "but if it comes up, we discuss how God’s promises do not negate suffering. I share Psalms resonating with comfort, reminding us God is there not to judge, but to walk with us through the despair and illness."
ICCP is a response to concerns of mentally ill adults. In 1994 several Mennonite churches and House of Friendship appointed Hennessy and a volunteer steering committee of two people coping with mental illness, plus representatives of the partner churches.
For four years, the ICCP annual budget of $15,000 provided 15 hours a week of chaplaincy ministry for 60 people, their families, and for congregational education.
ICCP plans to introduce the project to other denominations this year. Through congregational education, the ministry invites Christians to get involved with today’s marginalized people. "It’s a physically diagnosed biochemical disorder like no other illness because it bears stigma. We explore how we can be Christ to one another and see Christ in one another," says Hennessy, whose father founded mental health associations in several communities where he pastored.
The diagnosis of mental illness doesn’t have to define life, she says. This fall the ministry will promote friendship circles to help parishioners with mental illness survive times of crisis.
"ICCP provides ground rules, limitations and basic information on the illness so these friends may listen well and be aware if she is heading for a downward slide and needs to talk or see a doctor," says Hennessy. "When we hear people’s pain we want to fix it quick, but the need is for us to stand by them through their cycle of depression."
Speaker and circle participant David Weber knows his topic well. "All my life, I’ve felt some degree of cyclical manic depression," he says. At times it hampered enthusiasm and creativity he brought to careers in industrial sales and engineering. He "bottomed out" in a major crisis in the 1990s, 30 years after a one-time, one-year hospitalization.
His Christian faith grew through crises as he grew to recognize his condition and discovered the help to seek for it from family, friends, Hennessy and others. He now works two part-time jobs and hopes for a third, helping others with mental health issues.
Making educational presentations about his experiences with mental illness, Weber welcomes comments and questions. Most church people aren’t aware that folks in their midst have had such difficulties, he says. "In many churches mental illness either goes unrecognized or stays a deep, dark secret."
He adds that those who struggle with mental illness need to be up front, telling people: "You may not know what I’m facing, but here’s what’s happening. Could you convene a small group to smother me with love right now? Because I need it, brother, I need it, sister."
