National Alliance on Mental Illness
page printed from FaithNet NAMI
NAMI FaithNet Newsletter: December 15, 2006
Dear Friend of NAMI FaithNet,
This has been a significant year in the expansion of the FaithNet movement within NAMI.
In May, NAMI National assumed responsibility for managing the FaithNet Web site, incorporating it into nami.org. Since that time, FaithNet has repeatedly been among the Top 10 most visited sections of the NAMI site.
NAMI National also began managing the FaithNet e-mail list. Thanks to increased visibility and promotion, the list has grown from 600 names to over 4,300 – a seven-fold increase, in just seven months.
Through ten issues of the new e-newsletter this year, we have been pleased to bring you a wide variety of news and articles. We have chosen a few highlights from the year below (for all you new subscribers who may have missed them the first time around!)
It was through the dedicated financial support of people like you that NAMI was able to expand its support for the faith community in 2006, and for that we say thank you.
If you have never made a financial contribution in support of NAMI's work, or have not done so this year, we hope that you will take the opportunity to do so now. 2007 will provide many more opportunities for NAMI to continue to support faith communities in mental illness outreach, education, and advocacy. But we cannot do it without your help. Make a donation today.
2006 Highlights:
From Mental Illness to Spiritual Wisdom: A Father-Daughter Odyssey
(from November)
NAMI is pleased to present the full audio of this moving presentation by Tom and Barb Zanzig, who found profound spiritual lessons in learning to cope with bipolar disorder as a family member and consumer, respectively. Read more…
Caution: Clergy at Risk, Too
(from October)
In this first-person article, Rev. Randall Roda, a United Methodist pastor, shares his experiences with mental illness and offers suggestions for clergy and faith communities on how to recognize and respond to mental illness when it strikes those in ministry. Read more…
The "Do"s and "Don't"s of Ministry
(from September)
NAMI member and advocate Jan Lutz shares this list of guidelines for how faith communities can provide care and support to persons with mental illness and their families. Read more…
Recent African American Faith Responses to Mental Illness
(from August)
Read Byron Williams response to a fellow African American pastor; learn more about the continued challenges facing African American ministries in New Orleans; and access resources available from NAMI for working with African American communities and churches. Read more…
Mental Illness as Spiritual Journey
(from July)
As a consumer and clergyperson, Rev. Susan Gregg-Schroeder brought the wisdom of her ongoing journey and struggle with depression to participants in this NAMI convention workshop and offered universal truths about spirituality during difficult times. Listen to the full audio online. Read more…
Anti-Stigma Resources to Reach 26,000 Congregations
(from June)
Thanks to a grant from the American Psychiatric Foundation, Pathways to Promise will produce faith-based, anti-stigma poster packets and work with NAMI and other partners to distribute them to congregations nationwide. Read more…
Film is a Resource For Faith Communities
(from May)
The National Council of Churches, through Mennonite Media, has produced a one-hour documentary that is a helpful tool for stimulating discussion about mental illness, both inside congregations and as part of broader civic education programs. Read more…
Your support needed
Won’t you help us continue to support communities of faith with these kinds of resources? We can’t do it without you! Show your support today with a donation to NAMI.