By Rev. Aaron Lauer

There is a common saying in the church, “When you are diagnosed with cancer, the church fills your refrigerator with meals and your mailbox with cards. When you are diagnosed with depression, almost no one reaches out.”

Mental health is still one of the most stigmatized issues in our society, and that is especially true in the church. For generations, mental health issues and brain diseases have been treated as the result of sin; something to be shunned, ignored, or condemned. 

Thankfully, with advances in medicine, psychology, and more compassionate churches, we are finding a way to serve those with mental health conditions and brain diseases. The church should be a place of welcome and acceptance for all people, not a place where people feel the need to hide or keep a part of themselves a secret. 

May is Mental Health Awareness Month and in my denomination, the United Church of Christ, we will celebrate Sunday, May 17 as Mental Health Awareness Sunday. This is our opportunity to lift up the voices of those living with mental health conditions and brain diseases, and to recognize that mental health is an issue for us ALL. Just as our physical and spiritual health are important, so is our mental health.

I’ve long been a believer in the mind-body-spirit connection. We cannot care for one part of our being only. We must seek peace and balance in every piece of who we are. What effects one part of us will manifest itself in another part. And when we find healing in one part, we will experience healing in the others. 

And most of all, God loves and blesses each part of who we are, speaking to us and healing us through our minds, our bodies, and our spirits. All parts of us are good and holy! And God will work in and through all that we are for a full and beautiful life.

I pray that each of you experience acceptance and peace, no matter what mental health issues you may be facing. May you know the love of God as you journey and may you find a community that holds you and heals you.

Blessings and peace,

Pastor Aaron