From the Pastor

Rev. Dr. Chad Abbott’s message on mental health that appeared in the quarterly conference newsletter moved me and I invite you to please read and think about the people in your life had need attention you to come along side in a time of need.

His letter is below:

 

The movement of ministry in the area of mental health in the United Church of Christ is vital to the thriving of our churches and those who have found belonging in our midst. In a season of greater and greater isolation, loneliness, and fear, how we understand supporting one another’s mental health can be transformative.

 

As the Conference Minister for the Indiana Kentucky Conference, I have witnessed firsthand the power of such mental health support. On Memorial Day of 2024, I experienced the trauma of an accident that resulted in me dislocating and breaking my right ankle. It propelled me into a season of pain, both physically and emotionally. In my spirit, there was no doubt I was experiencing what has been called a “dark night of the soul.” For months I was unable to walk, drive, or visit the churches in person that are under my care. I had to be assisted by my family on a daily basis to even do the very basic tasks. I found myself experiencing depression, flaring of trauma responses, flashbacks to the accident, and a sense of loneliness that was hard to bear. And that is where my various communities of support came in and helped me make it through two surgeries, months of physical therapy, and getting back into a sustainable rhythm for my life.

 

As I experienced the pain and the radical physical and emotional shift in my own life, various communities stepped towards my pain with compassion and support. From those who came to mow my grass for 8 weeks while I couldn’t, to the knee scooter someone donated, to hundreds of dollars contributed towards Grub Hub cards so my wife didn’t have to cook just after my surgery, to those who stayed up with me online into the early morning hours when I had a frightening flashback, to those IKC Sunday school classes who wrote me cards or emails, to those who texted me, called me, prayed with me, and helped drive me places, all the way to our IKC staff who surrounded me in love and care. These were small acts of love and compassion to let me know I was not alone, to let me know that because I could not heal from this experience without others, their support would be a vital part of what has made me whole again. This is what being supportive for mental health looks like and this was a ministry you lived compassionately towards me as a Conference. Thank you!

 

I could have easily turned inward and found myself isolated from the world. Others could have easily just gone about their daily lives and assumed God and my doctors would do the healing for me. But, healing is more than just physical or medical. Healing is communal and spiritual, involving a very intentional offering of mutual support. St. Paul reminds us in 1 Corinthians that the different parts of the body cannot say “I have no need of you” when the other is hurting. This is one of our key witnesses as the body of Christ, that we care and support one another when the need is there. We are called to do so selflessly and with deep compassion because this is, indeed, how Jesus himself lived his life in the world. He not only saw the need of another, he was able to bear witness to the divine light that lives in every person no matter what they face and that is what makes his story and his ongoing story in us so powerful.

 

I consider myself so deeply blessed that I had family, friends, colleagues, and churches in my conference who understood Jesus’ vision for supporting others and their mental and physical well being. I cherish and do not take lightly the deep and abiding kindness provided to me in the wake of my injury. In all of this, I witnessed the Divine Light that bears God’s love in all people. It is a light that has continued to shine in the world and I tell the story of those of you who cared for me every chance I can because it is what being WISE for mental health truly means. There was not a time in those months of struggle where I didn’t feel welcomed, included, supported, and engaged in my mental health and that is a testimony to the power of love in the world. May it be so in our lives and in our churches.

 

 

 

Rev. Dr. Chad Abbott

Conference Minister

Indiana Kentucky Conference

United Church of Christ