The Canadian Mental Health Association has declared the first week of May to be Mental Health Awareness week. What a great idea. As they say on their web page, “We all have mental health, just as we all have physical health. Mental health is more than the absence of mental illness. It’s a state of well-being.” I think creating a culture where we can talk about mental health and mental illness is so important. As a minister I so often see the grief and shame that people bear because they, or someone in their family suffer from mental illness and feel they cannot talk about it. I once said to a parishioner, “If everyone in the congregation who has experienced mental illness or has a family member who did, turned purple we would be a beautiful, purple people.” But when caught in the throes of the struggle it is hard to admit to others what is going on. That’s why I am glad there is a Mental health Week.
Clara Hughes, six-time Canadian Olympic speed-skating and cycling medalist is the national spokesperson for Bell Let’s Talk. Right now she is on her “Big Ride”. Clara’s Big Ride for Bell’s Let’s Talk is a 110-day national bicycle tour through every province and territory. It began in Toronto on March 14th and will conclude in Ottawa on July 1, 2014. Today she is midway between Inuvik and Whitehorse. As part of Clara’s Big Ride, she will cover 12,000 km and visit 95 communities along the way. It is her goal to help grow awareness, acceptance, and action to create a stigma-free Canada.
She can talk because she herself experienced depression and has been open about her struggles to maintain good mental health. She is an inspiration.
Many of the stories that tell of Jesus’ healing show us people who faced mental health concerns. He reached beyond the illness to touch the person. I believe this is a calling for the church – to be a safe and welcoming place where people can feel support and experience healing. But I know that some days we are better at it than others.
