As part of its Community of Care vision plan, St. Peter’s Lutheran Church & School in Fort Wayne, Indiana, holds quarterly events that feature a speaker or activity, along with a meal. To celebrate the increased awareness on mental health issues this past year, St. Peter’s offered gifts to attendees at a recent event. Among these were LHM resources such as The Vibrant Conversations Deck of playing cards from our Households of Faith kit and our 30 Days of Household Devotions.
“The Community of Care has already proven to be an outreach tool,” said Michelle Leahy, pastoral care coordinator for St. Peter’s. “In addition to the order from LHM, we’ve ordered books on grief, caregiving, pain/suffering, rest, and a few other topics. We’re also offering a game for families and a calendar of activities to help reduce stress. The LHM cards and devotions will be offered to everyone as a way to strengthen the family.”
St. Peter’s belongs to a Lutheran community of 91 churches in northeast Indiana that are members of The Lutheran Foundation, a grant organization zeroed in on “transforming and supporting the physical, mental, and spiritual well-being of our community,” per its website, thelutheranfoundation.org. Beginning in 1904 as the Fort Wayne Lutheran Hospital, the Foundation began in 1995 from proceeds of the original hospital sale. It has awarded more than $200-plus million in grants to organizations, schools, and churches in northern Indiana.
People with mental health concerns are sometimes closer than we think. Recently, before attending a Look Up conference on faith and mental health issues sponsored by The Lutheran Foundation, Leahy said she met a woman whose son had a severe mental illness-but no one knew. She kept it hidden from those in the church for fear of the stigma attached to her son’s illness. “She was so afraid of being judged and shamed that she isolated herself from the very community that could have loved and supported her,” Leahy said.
People are seeing St. Peter’s care ministry as a safe place to express their mental health experiences. “Once they receive care here, then we have the opportunity to share the Gospel with them and enfold them into our Community of Care,” Leahy said. LHM’s resources complement the church’s mission of bringing the light of the Gospel to real-world problems. Our Christ-centered podcasts, Project Connect booklets, LHM Learn courses, and Barna-based materials speak to a host of concerns. They’re available at www.lhm.org.