Rev. Barbara Meyers' Ministry

Quarterly Report to MPUUC Board of Trustees

September 2009

 

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 affiliated community ministry.  Please let me know if you have any questions, comments or concerns.

 

Yours in faith,

 

 

 

Rev. Barbara Meyers

 

Education

Classes and Seminars Given

• Prepared training for monthly Pastoral Associates meetings.
• My document Mental Health Information for Ministers will be made available on the internet to UU ministers. The document has brief descriptions of the major mental disorders with specific suggestions of what a minister can do.

Classes, Conferences and Seminars Taken and Planned

• Enrolled in a Spiritual Direction Certificate program at the Chaplaincy Institute in Berkeley. This program will last for a year of class work and a year of supervised internship. The classes started in July, and will occur in 4 intensive weeks, 3 months apart.
• Attended web training from SAMSHA on Social Inclusion and Trauma Informed Care, on August 25.
• Attended NAMI's National Convention in San Francisco July 6-9. Was a participant on a panel having to do with religion and mental illness.
• Attended a conference by an Islamic Women's group and gave a short talk about the importance of interfaith understanding. I was welcomed very graciously.
• Attended web training from SAMSHA on Social Inclusion and Trauma Informed Care on September 10, 2009.
• Attended web training from SAMSHA on IT Strategies to Promote Social Inclusion, on September 24, 2009. This was particularly good.
• Port Townsend's UU Church has invited me to give a workshop plus worship service on the weekend of January 31. They have active members of NAMI in their congregation who pushed for this.
• At the request of the UUA's Mountain Desert District, made a proposal for a week-end of mental health workshops plus a worship service. This would happen in the spring of next year.

Retreats Attended

UUMA Fall Retreat at St. Dorothy's Rest Sept 29 - Oct 1.

Healing

Reaching Across

Continued compensated job at Reaching Across organization, for quarter-time work. Attend Monday support group meetings, two Interfaith Support Groups per month, most Wednesday group activities, and Friday craft days.

Support Groups

• Continued co-leading 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 at the monthly meetings. Made several calls/visits to congregational members, at home and in hospital.

Mental Health Committee

• The community met to plan for the next church year.
• An after church event is planned for Mental Health Week on October 11.

Priestly

• Worship leader on August 2 on the subject of "The Perennial Philosophy"
• Attended monthly Pastoral Associates meetings, and prepared training for each meeting.

Social Justice

Community Awareness

• Mental Health Matters Public Access TV Show
  • Taped shows on: Therapeutic Farm Communities, and Integrated Mental Health care in July, Famous People with Mental Illness in August, and Mental Illness inYouth in September.
  • Shows continue to be broadcast throughout Alameda County on Comcast TV as well as being available from anywhere on the internet.
• Mental Health pages on MPUUC web site continue to be widely accessed.

UUA Accessibility Group

• Maintained the website for the new UU accessibility group Equual Access.
• Mental Health Caucus under the auspices of Equual Access. Status: We have identified 6 leaders of this group who will work together to plan activities. The first activity is to get a grant so that we can have an in-person meeting.

Books Read

• Noticing the Divine - An Introduction to Interfaith Spiritual Guidance, by John R. Mabry. This is a text for the spiritual directors certificate program I have enrolled in.
• The Joy of Sects, by Peter Occhiogrosso, a text for my Spiritual Direction class. It is a readable summary of many of the world's religions.
• Spiritual Direction in Context, edited by Nick Wagner, another text for the Spiritual Direction Class.
• Waist-High in the World - A Life Among the Nondisabled, by Nancy Mairs, Boston: Beacon Press, 1996. Nancy Mairs uses a wheel chair because she has MS. Hers is a passionate tale of her gradually becoming more and more disabled, and the reaction from others. She shares ideas about how society should be changed.
• Life of the Beloved, by Henri Nouwen, New York: Crossroad Publishing Company, 1995. Nouwen talks about four aspects of becoming a person beloved by God and others: Being Chosen, Blessed, Broken, and Given. Good advice for spiritual directors.
• Meditation for Dummies, by Stephan Bodian, New York: Wiley, 2006. Despite its title, this book has a very good introduction to meditation, and tips on how to make it successful - like dealing with cramps in your legs. I think it should be called "Meditation for Smarties."
• Quail's Eggs - A Memoir of Edward G. Bobalek, Margaret B. King, Editor, 2009. This is a collection of reminiscences of the children of Edward Bobalek edited by his daughter, and my good friend Margaret.
• Man's Search for Meaning, by Viktor E. Frankl. Boston: Beacon Press, 1959, 2006. Survivor of the Holocaust talks about Logotheapy which addresses how important it is for people to find meaning in their lives.
• Mindfulness, by Ellen J. Langer. Reading, Massachusetts: Perseus Books, 1989. The dramatic differences in health and well-being between acting in an automatic "mindless" way and in an engaged "mindful" way are explained with results from a variety of psychological experiments.

Personal

• Need to continually work at life balance and stress management.

Other

• Met with Community Ministry Advisory Committee every quarter
• Chaired MPUUC Mental Health Committee which meets every 6-8 weeks
• Attended MPUUC Board meetings in April and May.
• Served as secretary to the Tri Cities Interfaith Council at its monthly meetings.