Mission Peak UU Congregation
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's Spiritual Portrait		 Rev

Rev. Barbara Meyers' Ministry

Quarterly Report to MPUUC Board of Trustees

September 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

  • A group of mostly UU Chicago-area congregations is arranging me to train how to lead Caring Congregation classes in their churches November. The UUA Grant will cover some of the expenses. The Central Midwest UU District office is organizing the training.
  • New York Metro area UU churches have set a training date for March 28-30. Several ministers are interested and they are recruiting others.
  • Invited by San Diego Congregation to give seminar and worship service on mental health in spring
  • Pacific Northwest Group has asked about my availability to do a training there in the spring.
  • At General Assembly, met with Jesse Jaeger, Director of the UUA Youth Programs, and Betty Jeanne Reuters-Ward about providing mental health information for the Youth Ministry Training Program. Jesse agrees with Betty Jeanne and me that mental health information should be included as part of their planned curriculum update. This won't be ready for update for some time.

Classes and Seminars Given

  • Gave presentation on the Caring Congregation at General Assembly in Portland, Oregon

Classes and Seminars Taken

  • Took an excellent on-line 3-week seminar from the Wayne E. Oates Institute entitled "Art and Healing" July 8-27.
  • Attended Ministry to the Marginalized conference in Berkeley July 17-18
  • Took a class: Websites That Get Results - A Strategic, Holistic Approach, from Brenda Kienan, a professional web site designer, on July 14. This excellent class led me to conclude that my mental health web site needed to be re-vamped, and I have started that process.
  • Took an excellent half-day class on Workplace Harassment and Inappropriate Conduct taught by an attorney at the Alameda Network for Mental Health Clients.
  • Attended Training Teleconference on Countering Internalized Stigma among People with Mental Illnesses on September 26 given by the US Government's Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration (SAMHSA) Resource Center to Address Discrimination and Stigma Associated with Mental Illness.

County Education Effort Continues

With the Consumer Affairs Director of Alameda County Behavioral Healthcare, continued an effort to educate county administration of the importance of religious faith to recovery from mental illness. I am acting as secretary to the group. Plans include helping to plan a stigma conference in October and a Spirituality conference next March. This activity is on hold since August 13.

Healing

Reaching Across

  • Continued compensated job at Reaching Across organization, for quarter-time work.

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.

Pastoral Associates

  • Continue to prepare training materials for Pastoral Associates
  • Made several visits to congregational members with mental health problems, at home and in the hospital.

Priestly

  • Led worship on July 1, the first meeting of MPUUC to consecrate their new location.
  • Led worship on July 29 at the Livermore UU congregation.
  • Led worship on August 5 at the Auburn UU congregation , with a forum afterwards with local members of the mental health community
  • Led worship on August 19 at MPUUC on the subject of Evil.
  • Officiated at a wedding on August 11 and another on September 9.

Social Justice

Community Awareness

  • Mental Health Matters Public Access TV Show
    • Recruited 12 people for crew of the show
    • Training for Mental Health Matters crew was held in August at Comcast studios in Fremont.
    • Planned for initial set of 8 shows; subjects to cover, and people to invite
    • Taped first show on September 19 with a show on the subject of Suicide. The next 7 shows will be on: Schizophrenia, Recovery, Bipolar Disorder, the African-American mental health experience, Peer support and Alternative Therapies, Mental Health Problems in Children, and Religion and Spirituality and Mental Health. Many of the speakers have been lined up.
    • Regularly scheduled airing date will be set in October after we tape our second show.
    • Public Awareness Committee of the Mental Health Board is highly involved with financial and moral support.
    • Mental Health pages on MPUUC web site continue to be widely accessed.
  • Participated in Alameda County Mental Health Services Act Planning Council This group does Alameda County Mental Health Services Act (MHSA Proposition 63) MHSA program portfolio reviews, budgetary actions recommendations, and prioritization of new programs. This activity is on hold since August 13.

UUA Accessibility Committee

  • Met at General Assembly. Helped to start new Accessibility Group with members throughout the UUA. Will confer via email and teleconference with this group.
  • The UUA Board of Trustees has decided that the Accessibility Committee will be combined with the Journey Towards Wholeness Transformation Committee. One or more of the current members of the Accessibility Committee will be asked to become members of the JTWT Committee. I have opted out of this activity for several reasons: I have more than enough on my plate, I have already contributed to the committee's activity by proposing a denominational mental health accessibility statement and I can lobby for this statement without being in a committee, and because I my view the focus of the committee on accessibility will be diminished.

Books Read

  • A Thousand Splendid Suns, by Khaled Hosseini, New York: Riverhead Books, 2007.
  • The Caring Heart, by Arlene Stepputat, Santa Barbara: Blue Point Books, 2004.
  • House Blessings - Prayers, poems and toasts celebrating home and family, by June Cotner, Poulsbo, Washington" Cotner Ink, 2004.
  • Nurturing Children and Youth - A Developmental Guidebook, by Tracey L. Hurd, Boston: UUA, 2005.
  • Patience and Sarah, by Isabel Miller, Robbinsdale, Minnesota: Fawcett, 1985.
  • When Youth Lead - A Guide to Intergenerational Social Justice Ministry, by Jill M .Schwendeman, Boston: UUA, 2007.
  • Witness to War, by Charles Clements, M.D., New York: Bantam, 1984.

Other

  • 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