Rev. L. Gail Irwin has served UCC and PCUSA churches as a settled and Intentional Interim Pastor. She is a freelance writer and author of Toward the Better Country: Church Closure and Resurrection (Wipf & Stock, 2014). Her blog can be found at http://freelancepastor.wordpress.com
A few years ago, Ash Wednesday fell on Valentine’s Day. I used the opportunity to offer ashes and prayers to customers in my favorite coffee house, with the owner’s permission. They were invited to write a prayer on a paper heart and receive the ash if they wished. The written prayers would be offered up that night at our church’s Ash Wednesday service.
One visitor to my table was a young man who worked at the coffee house. He crept up cautiously, and I could see the emotion on his face. We didn’t talk much, but he received the ash and wrote a prayer on a paper heart. After he left, I read it: Save me from myself.
I left that community soon after, but the next time I returned to the coffee house, the owner told me that the young man had since died by suicide. Like many others, I wondered what I could have done to help him before it was too late.
America is immersed in a mental health crisis and suicide is on the rise, especially among certain vulnerable groups:
- Members of the LGBTQ community are twice as likely to experience a mental health crisis versus other adults.
- Over 16% of youth have suffered from at least one major depressive episode in the past year.
- 13% of college students reported experiencing suicide ideation or intent.
- And 17 veterans die by suicide every day on average.
These people are often hidden in plain sight, but they are part of our church families and neighborhoods. As churches, we may not feel equipped to support them in getting the mental health care they need. But new science indicates that spiritual practices may contribute significantly to mental and emotional wellness.
Clinical psychologist Dr. Lisa Miller has written a study of the science of spirituality, “The Awakened Brain” (Random House, 2021). Her research provides scientific documentation that the human brain is wired for spiritual connection, and she has found a correlation between “strong personal spirituality” and lower rates of substance abuse and depression.
In studying young adults who scored high in spirituality over a period of years, Miller found,
“even if they experienced doubt and depression during college, {they} emerged on the other side with strong spirituality. These young adults…were much less likely to be depressed…”
“We are built to have a strong spiritual core,” Miller said at a recent workshop I attended. She went on to assert that her research has uncovered cases of “post-traumatic growth” in those who use spiritual resources for mental wellness. In these people, “trauma can be a gateway to growth”.
Miller does not dismiss the importance of traditional interventions like medication and talk therapy. But she shows that spirituality can be a tool for emotional resilience and meaning-making.
Many of us in the church have long sensed that spiritual and religious practices might help people maintain what Miller calls “spiritual fitness”. How can we encourage those practices among people struggling with anxiety and depression?
The first line of defense is to talk about mental health in our ministry settings so that it is no longer taboo. We can refer people seeking help to pastoral counseling that allows clients to pursue spiritual resources and growth in their healing process. Examples in my region are Samaritan Counseling in Wisconsin and LeaderWise in Minnesota.
We can also reach beyond the church walls to promote spiritual fitness in our communities. Here are some ways churches can foster spiritual connection among people who are not otherwise engaged in church life:
- In a community near me that experienced a teen suicide, religious leaders, and school and community leaders teamed up to present suicide prevention events in churches, at the high school, and in a community-wide gathering to educate the public.
- Spiritual practices can be taught community-wide: “forest bathing” is a practice that immerses people in the natural world for meditative outdoor exploration. In one study, participants reported decreased depression after forest bathing. Here’s a church that is teaching its members about the spiritual and mental health benefits of this practice.
- Communal singing is said to have spiritual and mental health benefits, plus it builds teamwork and unity among singers. My current church is using a once-dormant music fund to offer stipends to college students who sing with the choir. They find joy in making music and friends with older choir members while earning a little money.
- Practices like centering prayer and yoga have been shown to have positive effects on everyday stress. These can be taught in any setting and tailored to be compatible with different faith traditions.
Faith communities have the tools to help our neighbors tap into their “awakened brains” for healing and spiritual fitness. Let’s use them!
Vital Signs and Statistics 