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Bob Dunham, pastor emeritus of the University Presbyterian Church, Chapel Hill, “Rest As a Key to Personal Well-Being”

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Rest As a Key to Personal Well-Being                                                     --- Bob Dunham                         Decades ago, the Canadian singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell wrote a song about a child who was delighted by dragonflies and amazed by the world around him, but who grew impatient as he got older and wanted the pace to quicken.   I sang “The Circle Game” to my children when they were young, lamenting that we’re but “captives on a carousel of time,” unable to return and relive the days behind us as the years increase their speed. In the third verse of the song, Mitchell sang: Sixteen springs and sixteen summers gone now, Cartwheels turn to car wheels through the town; and they te...
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Rev. Dr. Bridgette V. Gloster, Emmanuel AME Church, "Breaking the Silence: Embracing Mental Health in Faith Communities"

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  Breaking the Silence: Embracing Mental Health in Faith Communities --Rev. Dr. Bridgette V. Gloster Silence is not always golden. All too frequently within communities of faith, mental health challenges are treated as the “unspoken burden.” Too many of our members suffer through the pains of depression, anxiety, and despair in silence, believing that their inability to lift themselves from the “miry clay” is the result of deficient faith. As faith leaders and sojourners on this spiritual journey, we must embrace the fact that our mental health is as much a part of our overall well-being as our physical health. Without question, addressing mental health concerns within our communities of faith is both a spiritual and practical necessity. The Bible reminds us that God cares deeply about our entire being, including our mental and emotional health. In 3 John 1:2, the apostle writes, “Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul pro...
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