Conference Committee on Disability Concerns

Report to the NC Conference of the United Methodist Church

2007

The chances of becoming disabled are probably greater than you realize. Studies show that a 20-year-old worker has a 3-in-10 chance of becoming disabled before reaching retirement age Mental Illness is the second largest reason people are on disability in NC.

Our Fall Mental Health Conference on November 7, 2006 was greatly attended as well as jointly sponsored with NAMI-NC (National Alliance on Mental Illness); NAMI-Wake County, NC Mental Health Association, and NAMI-SC. Our keynote speaker was Rev. Susan Gregg-Schroeder who Coordinator of Mental Health Ministries. We also heard from Mr. John Tote who is the executive director of the NC-MHA.

Sixty-six of the 113 persons in attendance were United Methodists from ten out of twelve Districts in the NCCUMC. This group represented thirty-eight UM Churches with thirty active pastors and twenty seven church members. One church had seven members present.

The other forty-seven were from other denominations and/or people active in mental health work. A few traveled from as far west as Boone, and Villas. Others came from as far east as Morehead City and Jacksonville as well as far south as Whiteville. They represented eleven churches from ten denominations, and eleven care providers. NAMI-NC invited me to conduct a workshop during the Spring Annual Conference on March 9-11. My topic was Churches Offering Radical Hospitality for Individuals with Mental Illness and their Families

On March 20, we met with the Joint Committee on Incapacity Leave to discuss our mutual concerns for those on incapacity and what we can intentionally do in their behalf. The Book of Discipline charges us to work toward the involvement of the person's gifts and graces of persons with a disability in the life and ministry of the church. We are very concerned about our own disabled and feel we must focus on our clergy on incapacity leave in advocating for the involvement of persons with a disability in the life and ministry of the church.

We would appreciate it very much if Bishop Gwinn would lead our conference is doing something like the Kansas East Conference Bishop's Conference on Mental Health Issues who worked with Bishop Gerald Mansholt, Central States Synod, Evangelical Lutheran Church of America; and Bishop Dean Wolfe, Episcopal Church in Kansas,to address Mental Health Issues.

Also, Baltimore-Washington Conference has a yearly “Jesus Rock” youth gathering. At ROCK 2005 last month in Ocean City, more than 500 teens and youth leaders attended a break-out session I helped to lead, "Recognizing and Responding to Teen Depression and Bipolar Disorder." A follow-up quiz revealed that the participating teens had gotten the message. They understood that being a Christian did not make them immune from mental illness but that their faith and their faith community could be a resource in recovery. Both youth and their leaders were challenged to be more sensitive to those around them who may need help and to make their youth groups places of compassion and healing for those in recovery. Several youth leaders requested help in developing follow-up programs in their local churches. While Pilgrimage is not organized with breakout groups, we would hope some other conference and/or district youth event would have such a breakout session.

We invite you to visit nccmentalhealth.org. There you will find many links for resources such as

􀁺 The article about last year's mental health conference in the NC Christian Advocate.

􀁺 Disability Facts

􀁺 Related Links

􀁺 Book List for Churches, Families, Siblings, Spouses, and Parents

􀁺 Coping with a loved one's depression.

􀁺 Depression and Other Clergy Health Matters

􀁺 Disabilities and Clergy

􀁺 John Wesley and Depression by Dr. Tony Headley

􀁺 Martin Luther and Depression by Dr. Tony Headley

􀁺 Resources for Children of All Ages of Parents with a Mental Illness

􀁺 Stephen Ministry and Responding to Serious Mental Illness

􀁺 The Overlooked and Forgotten—Sermon

􀁺 Mental Health Organizations in NC

Our focus this year will be on elder care, the following year on caring for the caregiver, and in 2009 focus on “Children of All Ages of a parent with a mental illness, and the mental health care needs of the elderly.

Respectfully,

John M. Crowe, D.Min., APC

Chair, NCUMC Conference Committee on Disability Concerns

Member, NAMI-NC Board of Directors

Member, NC Mental Health Association

Incapacity Leave

For more information contact:
 
  John M. Crowe, D.Min., APC
 Member, NAMI-NC 
 Member, NC Mental Health Association
 Incapacity Leave
 
 E-Mail drcrowe@nccumc.org
 Phone: 919 759-2146
 
 

This space is provided in partnership mission by the North Carolina Conference Information Technology and Communications, 
The United Methodist Church.
The content of this home page is the responsibility of the Committee on Disability Concerns.

This Web Site was created with the aid of Internet Explorer 6.0 and Microsoft Word 2000.

Since November 10, 2006

This page has been visited.

 
 





 
 
 
 
 
 
 
The Christian Counter