We are a WISE Church
Welcoming, Inclusive, Supportive, and Engaged
First Congregational Church is designated as a WISE church through the United Church of Christ (UCC).
In general, UCC covenants are agreements made between church members and God that signify an aspirational commitment about how we will live together as a faith community.
UCC’s Mental Health Network adopted the WISE acronym, which refers to a commitment to be a Welcoming, Inclusive, Supportive, and Engaged faith community to those who live with mental and/or neurodiverse health challenges.
Our WISE covenant advocates for a more just world in the following ways:
- by reducing the stigma and promoting the inclusion of people and families with self-reported emotional and neurodiverse symptoms,
- by learning about and validating their experiences,
- by normalizing conversations around mental, cognitive, physical, emotional, and neurodiverse disorders,
- by creating spaces that promote safety and a sense of belonging.
Mental Health Awareness: 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline
The 988 Lifeline: 988 is now active across the United States.
(Please note, the previous 1-800-273-TALK (8255) number will continue to function indefinitely.)
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s Disaster Distress Helpline: 1-800-985-5990, or text “TalkWithUs” to 66746.
National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Information HelpLine provides information and referral services. 1-800-950-NAMI (6264) and www.nami.org.
The Trevor Project hotline offers support for LGBTQIA+ youth and families struggling with mental health challenges at 1-866-4-U-TREVOR (488-7386) and theTrevorProject.org.
Since its inception four years ago, the national 988 Suicide and Crisis Hotline has averaged 11,000 calls a day, or 350,000 contacts monthly. Compared to usage on the previous 10-digit help line, that’s a 50 percent increase for those in crisis who have had access to a trained crisis counselor.
Anyone in crisis or emotional distress or dealing with substance abuse issues can call the free three-digit hotline to reach trained personnel 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Services include emotional support, de-escalation, and referrals to mental health resources in or near the caller’s local community.
The 988 hotline offers easy access with text, phone, or chat via 988Lifeline.org. Its menu includes options for Veterans and Spanish-speaking people and for those who are deaf or hard-of-hearing. Concerned loved ones can also contact 988 on behalf of a family member in crisis.
Naysayers suggest that numerous challenges continue to haunt the service, including the heavy volume of calls for too few qualified staff, sometimes resulting in long wait times. Sadly, what is true for mental health services in general is true for 988 calling centers in particular: The mental health field does not have adequate numbers of qualified professionals to fill the vacancies, especially in rural communities.
Yet promising results are emerging, with recent research noting that youth suicide rates are 11 percent lower since the implementation of 988 in 2022. The numbers themselves suggest that the stigma around mental health is declining and that the stronger message is that it’s OK to reach out and seek mental health services. Several states, including Oregon, have lobbied to incur a small monthly fee on telecommunication users (similar to 911 fees) to fund local 988 call centers, helping ensure long-range funding.
Visit https://988lifeline.org/ for more details on the 988 Suicide and Crisis Hotline. For information on what questions the 988 operator will ask the caller, see https://988lifeline.org/confidentiality.
Unlike 911 dispatchers, who send in-person help immediately, 988 counselors focus on providing emotional assistance to callers who are experiencing a mental crisis, contemplating self-harm or suicide, or battling substance abuse. According to the Oregon Health Authority, 988 crisis workers in Oregon are providing resolution to 97 percent of incoming calls. For those issues that may require additional time, the crisis counselors can arrange for in-person care.
Additionally, 988 counselors call for emergency services when there is a clear risk to the caller or others, and when it is the only way to ensure safety. For more details, click on this link: https://oregon.gov/oha/hsd/amh/pages/988.aspx
UCC Acknowledges Mental Health Stigma
At each Sunday service, we are accustomed to hearing words that welcome us, regardless of where we are on life’s journey – that means every person, whether a seeker, or a person of color, or someone who has mental or emotional challenges, or who identifies as neither male nor female or as both.
This year, the United Church of Christ’s 2024 Neighbors in Need theme is Mental Health Justice for All, to support people who are stigmatized because they have a mental health condition. UCC’s Justice and Witness ministries use two-thirds of Neighbors in Need offerings to provide grants to UCC churches and to support numerous advocacy efforts and direct services. The remaining third supports the Council for the American Indian Ministry, to be described in a future article. If you are surprised that UCC is compelled to specifically address the need for justice in mental health, consider this: People struggle to access mental health services, despite the high demand. Mental health and addiction providers lack adequate funding to hire skilled staff. Fewer people are training in mental health professions. And insurance coverage for counseling and therapy is often insufficient.
UCC’s General Synod passed a resolution in 2015 to expand its welcome to congregants and visitors who have mental health challenges, and to adopt a WISE covenant. (WISE is the acronym for being Welcoming, Inclusive, Supportive, and Engaged.) UCC’s Mental Health Network is an acknowledgement that mental health challenges have long been stigmatized in UCC churches across the country. Locally, we hope you will consider showing your support for mental health justice by placing a donation in the collection plate during our Christmas Eve Neighbors in Need collection.
Mental Health Awareness: Inspiring Books on Mental Health Topics
As we walk the path of widening the welcome to all people who enter our doors, regardless of their mental, cognitive, neurodivergent or physical challenges, we are reading books and articles, individually and collectively, to educate ourselves. The list below reflects recommendations from our church family and our FCC Mental Health Awareness Book Group.
- Blessed Are the Crazy: Breaking the Silence about Mental Ilness, Family, and Church, by Sarah Griffith Lund, a UCC pastor (nonfiction)
- Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine, by Gail Honeyman (fiction)
- Zig Zag Boy, by Tanya Frank (nonfiction)
- The Center Cannot Hold, by Elyn Saks (nonfiction)
- Souls in the Hands of a Tender God, by Craig Rennebohm, a UCC pastor (nonfiction)
- The Bel Jar, by Sylvia Plath (fiction)
- Unsheltered, by Barbara Kingsolver (fiction)
