Response to UU Church Shootings in Tennessee
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Mental Health Action Group
The members of this action group come together to promote awareness and understanding of mental health issues across the lifespan within the church and community. Their goals include: 1) to facilitate informed discussion; 2)to encourage actions that foster connection, hope, and fairness; and 3) to build awareness of available resources.
During the church year, our regular meeting date is the 3rd Sunday of the month, 12:30 p.m. in the Channing Room. MHAG members include First Unitarian church-goers who are one or more of the following:
- People who are interested in mental health
- Mental health professionals
- People with mental illness
- Families & friends of people with mental illness
All are welcome. For more information, contact Helen Gerhardt: 503-524-3122.
NEW:
Healing Power Discussion and Study
The Mental Health Action Group is pleased to announce a new and ongoing book study group based on the work of Dr. Philip Shapiro, M.D., Healing Power: Ten Steps to Pain Management and Spiritual Evolution. Our goals are to explore the connection between body, mind, and soul; to learn how to use the suffering of life as a stimulus for spiritual power; and to learn how meditation, mindfulness, and other spiritual methods lead to peace of mind, forgiveness, and a host of other spiritual qualities.
Healing Power is open to seekers of all faiths, and participants may include healthcare and counseling professionals; consumers of healthcare services; and other people wanting to learn methods of effective pain management. Healing Power is based on spiritual concepts, methods, and practices taught by the world's great religious traditions. It does not promote a particular religion, but promotes the development of your individual approach to spirituality.
Dr. Shapiro has agreed to facilitate the first few months of this book study group as it becomes established. Participants are encouraged to read through page 89 of the book before attending a session. No charge. Meets Mondays 3- 4:30 p.m., beginning Mon., January 7, 2008; Room B310 (3rd Flr. Conference Rm. Buchan Bldg). Enter the Salmon Building (1011 SW 12th Avenue) from the 12th street alley between the church buildings, and ring the bell. Proceed to the Buchan Building from inside the Salmon Building. Questions? Contact: Ryan at healing_power@nwlink.com.
Some of our past activities…
- October 25, 2006 U.S. Senator Gordon Smith Speaks on Suicide Prevention
Gordon Smith visited First Unitarian Church to discuss his book Remembering Garrett, about his son's suicide. Read more about it here. Click here to listen to this lecture. (Photo: l-r, Police Chief Rosie Sizer; U.S. Senator Gordon Smith; MHAG Chair Helen Gerhardt; Social Justice Director Kate Lore.)
- March 2006 QPR Training
(Question, Persuade, Refer…Suicide intervention training) In collaboration with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) and the Youth Suicide Prevention Coordinator for the Oregon Department of Human Services, we provided QPR training to 24 participants.
- May 2006 Out of the Shadow
We co-sponsored a public showing of the documentary Out of the Shadow at the Hollywood Theatre. Filmmaker Susan Smiley participated in the panel discussion that followed the showing. The film chronicles five years in the life of Millie, Susan’s mother who suffers with schizophrenia. About 300 people came to the screening, making it the largest public showing of the film to date. See www.outoftheshadow.com for a movie trailer or info on current showings on PBS and elsewhere.
- May 2006 NAMI Walk 2006
The Mental Health Action Group participated in the 2006 NAMI Walk, a fundraiser for the National Alliance on Mental Illness. Our team from First Unitarian of Portland was one of only three churches participating in the Oregon walk, and we were the largest among the three church groups.
UNITARIAN HISTORY AND MENTAL HEALTH
Visit the website for the Starr King School for the Ministry to read: The Spirit of Dorothea Dix: Unitarians, Universalists and the Mentally Ill by Barbara Meyers:
http://www.sksm.edu/research/papers/mentallyill.pdf
Dorothea Dix was an internationally recognized advocate for people with mental illness. Dix visited first Unitarian Church of Portland and her friend, Rev. Thomas Lamb Eliot, our first minister, in the spring of 1869.
RESOURCES AND WEBSITES OF INTEREST
National Alliance on Mental Illness
National Mental Health Association
National Institute of Mental Health
American Foundation for Suicide Prevention
American Psychiatric Association
American Psychological Association
Campaign for Mental Health Reform
Report of the Presidents New Freedom Commission on Mental Health
Mental Health Resources for Veterans (from National Alliance on Mental Illness)
Child and Adolescent Mental Health Resource List
Marilyn Sewell's sermon - "Mental Illness: What Nobody Talks About"
Listen to the The Down & Up Show. The Depression Is Real Coalition is dedicated to the reality of depression. Each week the hosts talk with some of the world's top experts on depression, as well as people who have been impacted by this illness. The reality of depression is that it is a debilitating and potentially deadly medical condition that affects more than 15 million Americans every year. The other reality of depression is that there is hope. Go to their podcast here:
Children's RE Summer Program