Dear Folks:

 

May is Mental Health Awareness month, and May 18, 2025, is Mental Health Sunday in the United Church of Christ. Did you know that Montana and Wyoming are consistently rated among the highest rates of suicide in the nation? This is a slide packet on suicide prevention produced by the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services (DPHHS). There are many contributing factors including: shortage of trained treatment providers, racism, alcohol use, access to guns, “boot strap” mentality, existing or emerging mental illness. Suicide is the second highest cause of death for teens, and men over 85 years old have a completion rate that is 4 times the rate of the general population. Men, who tend to use guns to enact suicide, have a higher rate of completion than women.

 

Last week, I attended a presentation on mental health in the church that was sponsored by Montana DPHHS Office of Faith and Community Based Services (OFCBS). The speaker, Tony Cloud, an evangelical pastor with deep experience navigating mental health concerns in his family, pointed out biblical characters who suffered from mental health challenges, including Elijah and Jeremiah (depression), Noah (substance abuse, Genesis 9), Moses (ideation of death, Exodus 32), King Nebuchadnezzar (psychosis), and Jesus (anguish, eg. Luke 22: 44), and I will add Ezekiel (PTSD). As well, many of the psalms speak to the pain of loss and trauma and can offer understanding and meaning to mental health challenges.

 

Mental illness holds a stigma that can keep people from seeking help. Of those that do seek help, some 25% approach churches and church leaders before any other caregivers. Churches and church leaders may not be prepared to receive these blessed children of God. Because of all of that, I’m working toward a Mental Health Day that will equip us in the church to recognize and engage with some of the issues. We will be led by some of our own people and with a representative from the UCC Mental Health Network.

 

MNWC Mental Health Day:

Saturday June 28

Miles City United Christian Church

1006 S. Strevell Avenue, Miles City, MT 59301

 

Rev. Dr. Tim Tharp (Savage), who teaches first responders and other groups how to best react to mental health challenges, will lead a workshop on Mental Health 101 for Churches and Suicide Prevention. We will be joined by Abbie Chronister, the vice chair of the UCC Mental Health Network to discuss how to become A2A (Accessible to All) and WISE (Welcoming, Informed, Supportive, and Engaged in Mental Health). Please register here if you’d like to attend (this will help us plan lunch).

 

Resources and phone numbers to know:

​

988 - suicide and crisis lifeline

911 - medical emergency

211 - local resource directory

 

NAMI (National Alliance of Mental Illness) of Montana lists several local affiliates in our larger cities including: Billings, Helena, Bozeman, Great Falls. They each have training, classes and support groups.

 

Peace,

Pastor Tony