Today’s Reflection
More than likely, you have witnessed the church’s silence on mental illness firsthand. If your church is anything like mine, you hear lots of requests during Sunday services to pray for “Aunt Judy who’s having surgery next week” or for “My neighbor who just found out she has cancer.” But you rarely hear prayer requests for someone who is clinically depressed or hospitalized for mental illness or struggling to pay out-of-pocket for therapists. We do not talk about the father with a newly diagnosed panic disorder or about the teen who tried to take his own life. Few people share these stories because we have not established the necessary bonds of trust within our congregations. Our churches don’t feel safe, or perhaps aren’t safe, for these concerns. We have work to do.
—Elizabeth Hagan, Brave Church: Tackling Tough Topics Together (Upper Room Books, 2021)
Today’s Question
What might it look like for your faith community to build trust and enable more honest conversation about mental illness? Join the conversation.
Today’s Scripture
And those who know your name put their trust in you,
for you, O LORD, have not forsaken those who seek you.
—Psalm 9:10 (NRSV)
Prayer for the Week
Lord, grant me the patience and grace to listen, the courage and wisdom to question and speak, and the bravery to create safe space for tough topics.
Submit your prayer to The Upper Room.
Something More
The Upper Room is committed to a ministry that is increasingly global, antiracist, and ecumenical. This is the work of discipleship and spiritual formation.
Lectionary Readings
(Courtesy of Vanderbilt Divinity Library)
Looking for lectionary-based resources? Learn more about The Upper Room Disciplines.
1 Comment
A very straight to the point and truthful statement. Yes, there have been great strides in mental health care, but there is still a long way to go. Alzheimer’s, dementia, suicide, and a host of others. Medical insurance is more difficult with mental illness, doctors want money up front and let you deal with the insurance. Thankfully it is improving, but a great deal of money can be spent without results.
Weather considered hot in New England continues, hopefully by Thursday we’ll be back to what we consider seasonable. was able to get out early, 5:50 am, for a good walk,
Bible study in a little over an hour. I’m finding this 40 day lessons on prayer complicated. I like the silence before God ,the scripture passages, and the story of the week. Sometimes they don’t fit as nicely as I think they should. There the same questions repeated for each day. It’s a bit overwhelming.
Will check the model and, if the paint is very well dried, I can begin to mask the car front in preparation for painting the second color which will produce stripes. Without AC I wouldn’t be trying this.
Good progress is being made on the transition from one pastor to another. It happens the end of the month and the beginning of July.
Blessings and prayers for the New Every Morning fellowship. I will try to catch up with news from you later today. Thank You, Lord.
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