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Life Flows On: Pastoring families who face chronic mental illness
This daylong workshop is designed for people who provide pastoral care and support to family members of people who face chronic mental illness. It will pay special attention to theological reflection on mental illness, appropriate pastoral responses, effects of mental illness on congregational dynamics, and related available resources. This workshop is one of three Leadership Clinics being offered on the same day.
Presenter
Gayle Gerber Koontz, Ph.D., is professor of theology and ethics at Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary. She joined the AMBS faculty in 1982 and served as dean from 1990 to 1995. She has served on the Mennonite Central Committee Peace Section Task Force on Women in Church and Society, on the Higher Education Council of the General Conference Mennonite Church, on the ethics committee for a long-term healthcare facility and is a member of the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill.
Schedule
| Time | Description | Location |
| 8:30 am | Registration, coffee and gathering | TBA |
| 9:00 | Session 1 Life Flows On: Wrestling with powerlessness Relating to a church member with a serious, chronic mental illness means confronting our own powerlessness, wrestling with the need to fix things when bodies, minds and relationships seem out of control. This session will examine different views of God, power, control, and prayer as they emerge for people close to those struggling with mental illnesses. |
TBA |
| 10:15 | Break | TBA |
| 10:30 | Session 2 Clinging to the Rock: Signs of God’s new creation Christian faith affirms that God is love, a God of resurrection and new creation. This session considers what it means for family members and others close to those struggling with mental illness to receive the powers of God’s new creation—powers that can redemptively redirect pain that does not go away, help us live in hope when we don’t feel hope, and find joy in the midst of uncertainty and loss. |
TBA |
| 11:45 | Lunch | Dining Hall |
| 1:00 pm | Session 3 Endless Song: The community of faith and families who live with chronic mental illness While the church responds compassionately and quickly to families in crisis situations, relating to families who have members with chronic mental illnesses is more difficult. This session will explore some of the reasons for this difficulty and elicit ideas for church responses to family members of those with mental illnesses. |
TBA |
| 2:15 | Break | TBA |
| 2:30 | Closing worship | |
| 3:00 | Evaluation |
Continuing Education Units
Participants earn 0.4 CEUs for attending Life Flows On.
Extreme Situations in the Congregation Series
This event is part of a series planned for pastors, exploring issues from the perspective of congregational dynamics. All pastors are invited and welcome to attend. See other events in the series here. The series offered in cooperation with Central District Conference and Indiana-Michigan Mennonite Conference.
