The Outer Circle - Our Community Minister's Monthly Column

by Rev. Barbara F. Meyers, M.Div.

(Click here for information about mental health issues and the Caring Congregation curriculum.)

Steps toward a Unitarian Universalist Mental Health Ministry

One of my goals in my ministry has been to find other like-minded ministers, lay and ordained, who could join me in a Unitarian Universalist Mental Health Ministry and do collective social action within and on behalf of the denomination. I can report that this goal is realizable within my sight.

I have now completed training work for which the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) Funding Program gave me a grant 3 years ago, which has resulted in 34 people in 15 congregations within 3 UUA Districts being trained facilitators of the curriculum. Beyond that, I have trained pastoral care teams from 4 congregations and 55 seminarians at the classes I have taught at Starr King School for the Ministry.

Every time I have done a training using my Caring Congregation curriculum I have been on the lookout for other ministers to join such an effort. I am happy to say, that I have now identified 10 individuals from 4 districts who are interested in being lay or ordained ministers in a UUA Mental Health Ministry! I’m confident that there are others lurking out there who will join when they learn of what we are doing.

I hear you ask, “What would such a ministry do?” Here is my preliminary list of action items:

• Set a goal of training ministers on mental health by conducting classes during ministry training days in all UUA districts.

• Continue trainings of congregational representatives. Our group is distributed widely geographically, and will thus be able to do trainings without large travel budgets.

• Get the UUA to adopt a denominational policy on mental health accessibility.

• Get mental health training into the training of YRUU counselors and leaders.

• Engage in public education by creating or sponsoring a TV show like Mental Health Matters in their own locality.

Do you have any other ideas? If so, let me know.

I plan to meet with as many of these folks as come to General Assembly this June to get together and create a plan of how to proceed. It is a good time to be a Unitarian Universalist and a good time to be working on mental health!

- In faith, Barbara.

Mental Health Ministry Featured in UU World

The on-line UU World magazine published an article on March 10 about Rev. Barbara Meyer’s mental health ministry.

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Last updated 5-5-2008