M i s s i o n P e a k U n i t a r i a n U n i v e r s a l i s t C o n g r e g a t i o n
"A Spiritual Community of Caring Hearts and Open Minds"
Mission Peak Unitarian Universalist Mental Health Ministry
Our Mission: to give compassionate help to people with mental health challenges and to their families, within and beyond the walls of our congregation.
Our Vision: to increase their hope, knowledge, and insight and help them find a sense of meaning in their lives.
Our Strategy: using fellowship, education, advocacy in the public arena, and honoring and deepening their spiritual lives.
About Our Community Minister, Rev. Barbara F. Meyers
Rev. Barbara F. Meyers, a member of our church since its founding in 1994, earned a Masters in Divinity from Starr King School for the Ministry in Berkeley in 2004 and returned to Fremont to launch a community ministry specializing in mental health.
Her entry into ministry marked a career change after working as a computer software engineer at IBM for 25 years. She holds a BA in Mathematics, an MS in Computer Science and PhD in Computer Science all from UCLA,
and a Certificate in Spiritual Direction from the Chapaincy Institute in Berkeley.
For more information about Unitarian Universalist Community Ministry, see UU Community Ministry.
Rev. Meyers testifies in Sacramento on February 1, 2011 to a California Senate Budget Subcommittee about mental health funding
There are four components to the ministry:
Education: She has written the curriculum The Caring Congregation Handbook that is a program for educating a congregation about how to be more intentionally supportive of people with mental disorders and their families. This has been pilot tested in the MPUUC congregation and at Starr King School for the Ministry. Several other congregations have begun to teach it. To find out more, see Caring Congregation Curriculum.
Healing: Barbara helps in Pastoral Care, especially for people with mental disorders and their families. She is an assistant manager of the Reaching Across organization, a peer-run mental health drop-in center in Fremont.
She is also a Spiritual Director and companions people who exploring their spiritual lives.
Social Justice: Barbara participates in community mental health activities, advocating for the mentally ill. Her major project in this area is to be the creator and co-producer and host of a public access TV program called Mental Health Matters.
Priestly Functions: Barbara leads worship services at our church and other churches. Her primary focus is on mental health issues, but this isn't exclusive as she is not one-dimensional; other topics she is passionate about and has preached on are religious art, theology and bible studies. In addition, she performs weddings, memorial services, and child dedications.
in which Barbara talks about her ministry.