August 17, 2009

BELLEVILLE, Ill. — “Pathways to Promise: Interfaith Ministries & Mental Illness” national summit will be Tuesday to Thursday, Sept. 29 to Oct. 1, here. Title of the 2009 event is “Companions on the Road to Recovery from Mental Illness: Pathways for the 21st Century.”

This conference will equip local churches and clergy to help persons within their congregation that may be suffering from mental health problems. It will offer models of ministry and collaboration.

This conference will equip local churches and clergy to help persons within their congregation that may be suffering from mental health problems.

Keynote speakers include Dr. Ken Thompson, executive director of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) Center for Mental Health Services; Mike Fitzpatrick, executive director of National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI); and Dr. Annelle Primm, director of minority and national affairs of the American Psychiatric Assn.

Workshops will present different models of ministry for congregations and communities.

The Rev. Cynthia Abrams, director of the United Methodist General Board of Church & Society’s work area on Alcohol, Other Addictions & Health Care, will present a workshop with Barbara Baylor of the United Church of Christ on “Advocacy and the Local Congregation.”

Other workshops include “Caring Congregations” model by Susan Gregg-Schroeder, United Methodist member of the Pathways Board of Representatives, and “Care and Counseling: What every clergy person needs to know about depression and anxiety” by Dale Kuhn.

Other subjects are “Prisons and Mental Illness,” “Adolescent Suicide: A Global Problem,” Homelessness and the Mentally Ill” and “Understanding Post-traumatic Stress Disorder: Care and Advocacy for Returning Vets.”

Pathways to Promise is an interfaith coalition in which both the United Methodist General Boards of Church & Society and Global Ministries participate. Pathways to Promise was formed to mobilize national faith groups and local congregations across the United States to reduce the stigma and to support people with mental illnesses and their family members in the process of recovery.

Toward the end of the conference, participants will meet in denominational teams to help plan strategies to carry on the work highlighted.

The conference will take place at the National Shrine of our Lady of the Snows here, just 15 minutes from downtown St. Louis, Mo.

Go to Pathways to Promise web page Pathways to Promise to download a complete brochure or call (314) 877-6489 for more information.