The Presbyterian Serious Mental Illness Network welcomes those who advocate in the church and greater community for those who have been touched by mental illness. They seek equity, justice, human dignity and full acceptance into the life of the church.

Join PHEWA and take part in this ministry.

The butterfly is a symbol often used in the mental health field to represent gaining freedom from the stigma of mental illness.

Become a congregation of care

To be a congregation of care means to provide a loving and welcoming place for persons who face rejection by so many others.

Learn how your congregation can become a place that is open to all God's people.

Personal stories of living with mental illness

My life as ministry

by Nancy Lee Head

Serving dinner to homeless women at Sarah House took on the same, awesome dimension for me that I would imagine serving the Lord's Supper to a congregation would be for an ordained minister. And washing the lice off of Ernestine's back with healing waters, in God's name, reminded me of God's grace just as I would imagine baptizing a child would for an ordained pastor.

Reinterpreting these two sacraments of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) became very important to me when I was rejected as a candidate for the ordained ministry by that same denomination in 1978 because I had been diagnosed with schizophrenia some 18 years before.

The gift of faith enabled me to transcend what for me was a major tragedy and to paint for myself a broader and deeper understanding of the Church and its rituals. The invisible church became more real to me, in many ways, than the visible church and because of this "faith fact" my life was enriched. [Keep reading this article]

Created in the image of God

by Cathy Smith

I am a member and an elder at Westminster Presbyterian Church in Minneapolis, Minnesota. I serve on the Task Force on Disability for the Presbytery of the Twin Cities Area. I also have Bipolar I with psychotic features, obsessive-compulsive disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder.

I was hospitalized for the first time in the spring of 2005. The church was very supportive and a minister visited me often. But I did not feel comfortable having others know about my mental illness. I did not want prayers from the congregation or from the prayer chain. My attitude has changed dramatically regarding letting others in on what is happening in my life.

Since that time, I have been hospitalized several more times. My disease progressed to having more delusions and hallucinations. It has taken considerable time to find the right mixture of medications to stabilize me. [Keep reading this article]

Partnerships ... a win-win for all

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

A mental illness model of ministry

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. [Keep reading this article]

Download the Models of Ministry packet

This Models of Ministry packet features the recipients of the Florence Iversen Kraft Award, presented first in 2000 and at each General Assembly since. The award goes to a congregation that has demonstrated outstanding leadership in ministry with those who suffer from serious mental illness and their families.

Watch for additional award winners following each General Assembly. Other congregational stories beyond the General Assembly award recipients, will also be added.

Please consider submitting the story of what your congregation is doing in this area of ministry to PSMIN. Email Susan Stack.

Theological and Scriptural statement

The source and ministry of PSMIN is in Jesus Christ. He healed mentally ill persons. Jesus called the sick to arise and to take part in their own healing. We are called into community with Jesus for healing, nurturing and enabling wholeness. By God’s grace, each of us helps to heal, nurture and make whole the community of believers. [Read more]

Visit these Web sites

National Health Ministries
The Office of National Health Ministries seeks to empower individual Presbyterians, congregations and governing bodies for the ministry of Health, Healing and Wholeness by promoting health awareness and providing resources for individual Presbyterians, congregations and governing bodies.

FaithNet
FaithNet NAMI is a network composed of members and friends of NAMI. It facilitates the development within the Faith Community of a supportive environment for those with serious mental illness and their families, points out the value of one's spirituality in the recovery process, educates clergy and congregations, and encourages advocacy to bring about hope and help for all who are affected by mental illness.

Pathways to Promise
Pathways to Promise enables faith communities to become leaders in reaching out to people with mental illness and their families. Pathways' goal is to be a catalyst for action in the faith community that enhances the quality of life for those challenged by mental illness.

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