Becoming WISE

What is a WISE Congregation/Synagogue/Organization?

WISE is an acronym that stands for Welcoming, Inclusive, Supportive, and Engaged.

A WISE congregation, synagogue, or organization is one that has covenanted to being WISE for mental health in their community and the wider world through their welcome, inclusion, and support of those with mental health experiences, as well as through their engagement with mental health advocacy and justice work.

Following the adoption of the Prudential Resolution titled: "Developing Welcoming, Inclusive, Supportive and Engaged Congregations for Mental Health" at the 2015 United Church of Christ (UCC) General Synod, the UCC Mental Health Network (MHN) developed the WISE Certification process to assist congregations in becoming WISE.

Ten years later, the MHN has journeyed with and certified nearly 100 faith-based communities, and while most are affiliated with the UCC, many come from other Christian denominations and religions. Organizations that have been certified as WISE.

How Does a Congregation/Synagogue/Organization Become WISE?

• A Faith-Based Community and Organization's Guide to Becoming WISE for Mental Health: The Ten Updated Steps for WISE Certification (December 2025)
• The 10 UPDATED Steps for WISE Certification (July 2021)
• Becoming a WISE Congregation for Mental Health pdf booklet (2019)
  • Booklet - text-based, accessible version
  • Booklet - large print, text based version
• The Basics: How one church started and grew a Mental Health Ministry (2019)

What is a WISE Covenant?

You may notice that language used in some of the following covenants is outdated (such as use of the phrase "mental health challenges"). In an effort to recognize the continually evolving language of mental health, the MHN has not only updated our own language, but additionally put forth a Resolution of Witness, which was presented to and adopted by the UCC's 35th General Synod in 2025. Please include new language in your covenant as noted in our Mission Statement and on our page: "Evolution of the Language of Mental Health."

Here are a few WISE Covenants from congregations/organizations:

• Diamond Bar UCC — Diamond Bar, California (voted October 13, 2024)
• Rocky Hill Congregational Church (UCC) — Rocky Hill, Connecticut (voted October 6, 2024)
• Kent UCC — Kent, Ohio (voted January 23, 2022)
• First Congregational UCC — Hendersonville, North Carolina (voted January 29, 2017)
• First Congregational Church UCC — Boulder, Colorado (voted October 19, 2014)

Becoming WISE Survey

We often recommend to organizations just beginning their WISE journey to survey their congregation/organization anonymously in order to assist in discerning priorities of their mental health ministries. The survey should be distributed and collected by your WISE Team. You may be surprised in what you discover!

Living Out the WISE Covenant

We wanted to highlight some of the stories from WISE Organizations on what sorts of activities and events they do to live out their WISE Covenants!

W.I.S.E. Organizations/Synagogue/Congregations commissioning service sample from Mountain View United Church in Aurora, CO.

Additional resources for doing the work of a WISE organization can be found on our Resources/Toolkits page!

If your congregation or organization has already adopted a WISE Covenant and you need to contact the UCC MHN, please send us a message at  wise@mhn-ucc.org.