From Debbie
Dear CCAV family and friends,
May is Mental Health Awareness Month, and this Sunday is Mental Health Sunday in the UCC. Shelly has built this week’s worship service around that theme, as I did last year when I was putting the service together, and I know it will be a lovely and meaningful service that I can’t wait to see.
Mental Illness is something that affects all of us in some way. I would be willing to bet that most of us know someone – or know OF someone – who is struggling with mental health, whether it be yourself, a family member, a friend, a co-worker, a neighbor or simply an acquaintance. This year, especially, after two years of pandemic living, many people are realizing that stress, isolation, and uncertainty have taken a toll on their well-being. The importance of Mental Health cannot be stressed enough. It affects literally every part of us, and the month of May has been set aside simply to raise awareness of the issue and make everyone aware of the support that is out there and available.
I do not have a diagnosed mental illness, but I have certainly struggled with depression and anxiety – and I have raised three children, all of whom have a diagnosed mental illness of one form or another. My career as an educational counselor has also afforded me a front row seat to many children and adolescents – as well as parents or other family members – who are struggling with a mental illness. It is heartbreaking and painful to witness, although it is not nearly as frightening as it is to the person who is struggling.
There is such a negative stigma around mental illness, which is a huge part of the problem. It can be unpredictable, embarrassing, frightening, and debilitating – and yet some will not believe that there really is a problem or that there is a chemical imbalance that explains the symptoms. It is often an invisible disease that makes it difficult for those who don’t struggle with it to understand. I have had to clear a classroom of everyone except me and a second grader who was literally screaming because of all the bugs he wanted me to kill that he perceived were there trying to attack him. I have ridden with countless adolescents to the ER because they had either attempted to take their own life or they were talking about doing it. I did a home visit with a social worker to one of my students who was running outside naked in a field because she was listening to voices that were telling her to do it. The parents of these students were understandably devastated as they watched their children struggle, and they did not have a clue how to handle it. Dealing with it as a counselor was very difficult, but it was MUCH more difficult to deal with it when it was one of my own children who was struggling. And when it gets under control, it is often only under control for a period of time. As a general rule, a mental illness does not go away. My children struggled with their diagnosed illnesses every day, some days more than others, and they will for the rest of their lives.
Mental Health Awareness Month is hugely important to me personally because I know how difficult a mental illness can be to manage – and I have seen and experienced firsthand the devastating effect it can have on a family. I also know that a diagnosis as seemingly “simple” as depression and/or anxiety can have just as much of an impact on a person and a family as something more complicated such as schizophrenia or bipolar disorder. Mental illness is mental illness, in all of its forms, and it all needs to be treated seriously and with compassion. The first step is making people aware that it IS real, that it IS treatable, that it IS ok to have the diagnosis, and that it should never be ignored.
If you yourself are struggling as we come out of pandemic living, or if you know of someone else who is, I encourage you to talk about it and then to seek help. It is more prevalent in the world than we all realize, I’m sure. And finally, I encourage you to show kindness and compassion to everyone you meet – even the grumpy guy who cut in front of you or yelled at you at the grocery store. None of us knows what another person may be struggling with at any given moment.
Wishing you smiles and kindness along your path this week. =Debbie
- The worship service May 15 is ON LINE with Pastor Shelly leading, and it includes a Zoom Coffee hour on Sunday morning at 10:15. This is Mental Health Awareness Sunday in the UCC, and the service centers around that theme. It is a good one! A link for both the service and the zoom coffee will go out on Saturday evening. I hope to see you there!
- The link to sign up to help support our worship services is listed here. Please sign up if you are able. When you get into the link, it is clear which services are online and which are in person, and you only need sign up for a service that you feel comfortable supporting. The link to sign up is: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/70a0d4da8ab2aa64-ccav.
- Do you want to learn more about Hearts and Minds, Inc, the anchor non-profit organization that is interested in being involved in our Church of the Future project by opening up another facility on our property? They are having a Ribbon Cutting Ceremony to celebrate the opening of their new program space where they are currently located. The celebration is free of charge and includes a tour of their facility. If you are curious about what they do and would like to support their organization, please do make an effort to go to their Ribbon Cutting celebration May 11, and let Maria know that you are from CCAV.
- Thank you all for your patience and support of our church and its leadership. May this year bring an abundance of blessings and many moments of joy to each of us, as well as renewed hope, energy, and exciting opportunities for our beloved CCAV! Thank you for being a part of my church family!