Pastor's Pondering - May 6, 2022

Dear friends -

May is mental health awareness month. With so many struggling through and now starting to come out of pandemic, with the first non-civil war happening in a while in the world in Ukraine, political divisiveness, and the myriad of challenges we're facing, now is a great time to continue to have these conversations in church. While faith is not a substitute for professional mental health care, it can be a huge support. The youth themselves named practices this Sunday like being part of community, prayer, and trusting God which have helped them through enormous challenges. I know in my own life periods of silence, retreat, and attempting to practice Sabbath rest (for me on Fridays, since Saturdays are preparing for worship and Sunday is full of leading church activities) are essential.

What are your favorite faith practices to help keep balance and improve your mental health? How can we continue to spur one another on to good mental health so that we can be a source of help and care for others? With the long, dreary spring, we still have light in Christ and in one another.

To more light,

Jess