CHAPEL HILL — Like society at large, faith communities often struggle with the complexities of mental illness – how to know, how to help, what to say.
Recognizing the need for better insight, a multi-congregational organization called Faith Connections on Mental Illness convened a forum at Binkley Baptist Church this past Sunday titled “Faith, Hope and Love: When One Suffers from a Mental Illness.” This was the second year the forum was held. Approximately a hundred people attended.
A panel of clergy members and advocates, including recipients of mental health care services, stressed the importance of accepting that a person can appear “normal” while experiencing deep-seated pain, and that the best therapy a minister or fellow churchgoer can provide is acceptance and inclusion.
