Informational Toolkits
You can use these toolkits to educate your organization or congregation about a variety of mental health challenges. Each toolkit contains background information on its subject, handouts, tips for faith leaders, a list of ways your organization can help, and additional resources.
- Introduction to Mental Illness
- Mental Health Ministry with Children and Families
- Dementia/Alzheimer’s
- Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
- Substance Abuse Toolkit
- Suicide Prevention & Awareness
We welcome your input on the toolkits and your ideas for improving them and adding to them. Please contact us to offer your suggestions.
Helpful Organizations
- Interfaith Network on Mental Illness (INMI) offers tools for faith communities to better welcome, include and support people with mental illnesses and their families.
- Mental Health Ministries provides educational resources to help erase the stigma of mental illness in our faith communities.
- The Caring Clergy Project offers videos and other resources designed specifically for faith community leaders.
- NAMI FaithNet is a network of members and friends of the National Alliance on Mental Illness. It was established to help faith communities develop non-threatening, supportive environment for those with serious mental illness and their families.
- Pathways to Promise is an interfaith cooperative that provide assistance and resources, including liturgical and educational materials, program models and caring ministry with people experiencing a mental illness and their families.
Worship Resources
Hosting a Mental Health Sunday
Other Useful Guides and Resources
- The Basics: How one church started and grew a Mental Health Ministry
- Read about a UCC church that adopted a covenant on welcoming and supporting people in their congregation who have mental illnesses. (You can find more WISE Covenants on our WISE Congregations/Organizations page
- “10 Things Faith Community Leaders Can Do to Make The World a Better Place for People with Mental Illnesses” is a one-page summary published by the Interfaith Network on Mental Illness
- Starting a Spiritual Support Group for Mental Health and Wellness In Your Faith Community
- Interested in starting a mental health ministry at your church but not sure how to go about it? See this handout: “10 steps for developing a mental health ministry in your congregation.”
- Mental Health Ministry – Lenten Discussion Series submitted by Kent UCC
Videos
- Check out our videos on our YouTube channel
- WISE Conference Videos
- John Oliver’s (racy) talk about Mental Illness
- Widening the Welcome videos
- Including this audio recording of a presentation by Rev. Alan Johnson and Dr. Anne Weiher called: “WISE Up to Mental Health” in 2015
- “Congregations can be places where mental health is woven into the fabric of the congregation’s life. In worship, small groups, congregational care, adult education, and service, issues and concerns about mental health challenges can be brought into the life of the church as well as can the people living with such challenges. This workshop gives theological insights and the practical steps for your congregation to become a WISE Congregation. It includes a model about how one church took this journey and what has happened.”
- Including this audio recording of a presentation by Rev. Alan Johnson and Dr. Anne Weiher called: “WISE Up to Mental Health” in 2015
Suggested Books for Group Study
