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"A Spiritual Community of Caring Hearts and Open Minds"

 


 Rev

Rev. Barbara Meyers' Ministry

Quarterly Report to MPUUC Board of Trustees

March 2007

 

To the MPUUC Board of Trustees,

 

The following is a list of the activities I have engaged in during the last quarter as part of my endorsed community ministry.  Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns.

 

Yours in faith,

 

 

 

Rev. Barbara Meyers

 

Education

Caring Congregation Program

There are a number of activities with regard to the Caring Congregation curriculum:

  • A group of mostly UU Chicago-area congregations is arranging me to train about 20 trainers how to lead Caring Congregation classes in their churches November 9-11. The UUA Grant will cover some of the expenses. The Central Midwest UU District office is organizing the training.
  • The Palo Alto Presbyterian church has engaged me to teach the Caring Congregation at their congregation starting in April. I will use this opportunity to make the curriculum ecumenical.
  • A Maryland Presbyterian church is going to use the curriculum as a basis for classes they will be teaching in March. I will help them customize the lessons for their purposes.
  • The Oakland church will be giving the curriculum starting later in March taught by two of my former SKSM students. Also, the Oakland church has hired me to do an intensive training for their pastoral care staff.

Classes and Seminars Given

  • Proposal to teach an intensive weekend class at SKSM in Spring 2008 was approved. The idea is that maybe more students from other seminaries will be able to attend if the class only takes a weekend, rather than a full semester.
  • Taught 6-session class on "Understanding the New Testament" starting in January.
  • A podcast describing my ministry is placed on the SKSM website and linked to from the MPUUC web site.

Classes and Seminars Taken

  • "Spirituality and Mental Illness" online 2-week seminar Feb 12-13, 2007 offered by the Wayne E. Oates Institute. Made some good contacts among religious professionals working in mental health situations.
  • Participated in on-line conference calls organized by US Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)
  • Jan 17, 2007. "National Anti-Stigma Campaign Media Outreach" Excellent presentations on running a media campaign.
  • Feb 7, 2007 "Building Partnerships That Work" Presentations on stigma programs that have been effective "Small-Scale Intervention", the "Stamp out Stigma" presentations in San Francisco, and the "In Our Own Voice" program from NAMI.

Books Read

  • Spirituality and Religion in Recovery from Mental Illness, Roger D. Fallot, Ed., New Directions for Mental Health Services, Jossey-Bass Publishers, Number 80, Winter 1998. Excellent collection of articles about the importance of religion in recovery from mental illness.
  • The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, by Mark Haddon. New York: Vintage Contemporaries, 2003. A mystery written as a first person account by a boy with Asperger's Disorder. A fascinating look at the thinking of someone with Asperger's.
  • Dancing with Bipolar Bears, by James McReynolds, iUniverse.com, 2003. A first-person account of a Baptist minister who becomes bi-polar and devotes his lifetime to serving people with mental disorders.
  • The Devil in the White City, by Erik Larson, New York: Vintage, 2003. About the Chicago World's Fair in 1893, heavy in psychological profiles of the builders, an early psychopath and a deranged man. A true story which is a study in greed, ambition, pride and madness.
  • The New Social Face of Buddhism - A Call to Action, by Ken Jones, Boston: Wisdom Publications, 2003. How Buddhism is relevant to current social issues.
  • The Parable of the Sower, by Octavia E. Butler, New York: Four Walls Eight Windows, 1993. The journey of a woman who feels the pain of others living in 2025 in a dehumanized civilization. A gruesome, depressing story, and example of process theology by a UU author.
  • Several books about Guatemala and weaving: Maya of Guatemala, The Maya Textile Tradition, A Century of Change in Guatemalan Textiles, Guatemalan Backstrap Weaving

Healing

Reaching Across

  • Continue working about quarter time at Reaching Across organization. A recent increase in their funding has allowed me to be compensated at a higher rate than was done before.

Support Groups

  • Continued co-leading new interfaith support group for people with depression and sadness.
  • Continued to recommend support group for families of those with mental illness. Have gotten feedback that this has been helpful

Pastoral Associates

  • Will continue being chair of Pastoral Associates until new replacement(s) identified.
  • Will continue to give training to Pastoral Associates and be compensated for this.

Priestly

  • Led service on January 7 service on "Humility. Had many people ask for copies of the sermon. It is posted on line on the MPUUC web site.

Social Justice

  • Joined Alameda County Mental Health Services Act Planning Council This is a group of community stakeholders that meets quarterly and gives advisory oversight on the evaluation and implementation of the Mental Health Services Act (MHSA Proposition 63) in Alameda County. The group reviews the MHSA program portfolio, recommends budgetary actions, and prioritizes new programs. The first meeting was on January 25, 2007.

Community Awareness

  • Mental Health pages on MPUUC web site continue to be widely accessed.
  • Taped an anti-stigma program for on community access television.
    1. A joint effort by people from the Alameda County Mental Health Public Awareness Committee, the MPUUC mental health committee, the Fremont Alliance for a Hate-Free Community and Alameda County's NAMI chapter.
    2. The show will be marketed to community access TV stations for May Mental Health Month.
    3. Plan to tape one show using the experienced crew from another show and then decide whether to make more programs.

Anti Stigma Effort

  • Attended monthly meetings of the Public Awareness Committee of the Mental Health Board.
  • The community access TV program (above) has been planned with them.

UUA Accessibility Committee

  • Attended UUA's Accessibility Committee meeting in January in Detroit. Presented a draft of a denominational policy on mental health. It was passed unanimously and has been sent to the UUA Board of Trustees for action. The committee went beyond voting to establish this policy; we stated that mental health should be a competency area for future ministers to demonstrate when appearing before the Ministerial Fellowship Committee, the credentialing body for UU ministers. We will prepare some study questions for candidates to prepare for this competency. I am thrilled about this. We still have to see what the Board of Trustees will do, but I'm still thrilled.

UU Mental Health Chat forum

  • UU email chat list for people interested in a UU mental health ministry has been set up.

Other

  • Took 11 days of vacation in March to go to Guatemala
  • UUA for approved my second year of primary fellowship as a UU minister. This must be done for the first 3 years of a ministry.
  • Met with Community Ministry Advisory Committee every quarter
  • Chaired MPUUC Mental Health Committee which meets every 6-8 weeks
  • Met with Committee on Ministry from MPUUC monthly
  • Met with mentor Rev. Dave Sammons every 4-6 weeks
  • Met with other UU community ministers every 2 months
  • Met with Tri-Cities Interfaith Association every month
  • Participated in newly-formed Community Ministry Cluster meetings with other PCD community ministers. Will meet once every 2 months.