Partnerships…A Win-Win for All

A Mental Illness Model of Ministry

Dave Gatos serves lunch at Central Presbyterian Church in Louisville, Ky. Photo by Nancy Troy.

Last fall in the PHEWA Louisville office the work was piling up — the last details of the conference had to be completed, registrations needed to be entered, the number of emails were growing — and there on the conference table, piled high, were hundreds of domestic violence awareness packets to be assembled. We needed help! A call for volunteers to the church where I worship suggested that I contact the Center for Rehabilitation and Recovery (CRR), an agency that serves 38 residents, each of whom has a severe and persistent mental illness. They were looking for community volunteer and work experiences for the residents who spent much of their lives isolated from their communities. It was the perfect solution. Our packets were assembled and mailed. Our guests had an opportunity to learn on the “assembly line,” and PHEWA staff and CRR residents had lively discussions about their other volunteer jobs and domestic violence, all while working and later enjoying a well-deserved lunch together.

James H. Bailey serves lunch at Central Presbyterian Church in Louisville, Ky. Photo by Nancy Troy.

One of the volunteer experiences that they were excited about was helping Central Presbyterian Church in Louisville, Ky., with their hot lunch program. Central started providing a lunch for clients of the Healing Place who were taking classes just a few blocks from the Church. The Healing Place is an innovative program for persons working through alcohol and drug addictions. Central, like PHEWA, needed help. The Wednesday lunch had grown to 100 persons and continued to grow as word got out in the neighborhood. CRR offered that help by sending volunteers, along with a job coach, to help prepare and serve the lunch as part of a five-week class called Hospitality 101.

Brenda K. Harris, Center for Rehabilitation and Recovery Job Coach, serves lunch at Central Presbyterian Church in Louisville, Ky. Photo by Nancy Troy

On February 11, 2007, Central Presbyterian Church was awarded the Sunrise Award, presented by Seven Counties Services, Inc., whose mission is to build healthy communities by helping individuals and families who are affected by mental illness, developmental disabilities, addictions and abuse realize their potential. The award honors an individual or organization that recognizes the capacity for growth, development and progress that can be achieved by working together.

“The significance of the collaboration is more than big numbers,” says Diane Brewer, the Seven Counties’ Division Director who oversees CRR operations. “Central Presbyterian has become a ‘safe’ place for our clients to venture into the community, learn new skills and experience new rewards.” Recently, two CRR residents on the lunch crew, who are particularly interested in working in the food service industry, were invited to work with a chef in the preparation of an evening meal for a Fine Dining event held at the church.

This collaboration is a wonderful example of ministry “with” persons, a position that PHEWA and its 10 Networks holds as essential for church, community and individual transformation.

The Rev. Mark Baridon, co-pastor of Central, who oversees the lunch, looks forward to the day when this lunchtime will also include some social services that his “lunch-hour congregation” envisions.

Much of this information was taken from the announcement of the Sunrise Award provided by Seven Counties Services. Central Presbyterian Church (318 W. Kentucky St. in Louisville, Ky.) invites you to worship when you are visiting in Louisville. It is a church committed to their urban location and known for their ministry of justice and inclusion.