Spring has finally sprung, and the additional hours of sunshine welcome us brightly into May, Mental Health Month. The United Church of Christ and The United Church of Canada honor this month by dedicating the third Sunday of May as Mental Health Sunday, a time to celebrate mental health and recommit ourselves and our congregations to being places of welcome, inclusion, support and engagement with everyone.
Radical Belonging: Mental Health Sunday Resource for All offers liturgies and education materials any congregation of any denomination can download a PDF or accessible Word version for free and use to celebrate Mental Health Sunday. It was created in prayer and partnership between the United Church of Christ Mental Health Network and The United Church of Canada, with generous contributions by Rev. Dr. Sarah Lund, the United Church of Christ’s Minister for Disabilities and Mental Health Justice. Within it, you will find liturgy that challenges the systemic sins that create “otherness” and ableism, resources that share the stories of people living with mental illness and disabilities, and words of grace and celebration for the opportunities we have as the Body of Christ to love, care for and accept one another.
As our communities slowly emerge from the collective trauma of COVID-19, the losses of the pandemic weigh heavily on our lives and communities. Within this context, The United Church of Canada and the United Church of Christ Mental Health Network join our voices in calling faith communities to become intentionally inclusive places where God’s Kin-dom manifests through relationships of mutual respect for all people, including those living with mental health challenges, substance use disorders, neurodevelopmental differences, brain disorders, and their families.
