 Happy Monday morning. It's great to see all of you and I want to welcome you to this Center for Missionary Outreach call an important call about mental health and the ways that we as people of faith and church leaders can Step into this space in this time It was timely That just Yesterday in the Dallas Morning News Sharon Grigsby had a piece In which she lifted up What's been called a second pandemic in terms of a mental health crisis and Shared a statistic that was new to me and that is that the state of Texas is ranked 51st out of 51 States and the District of Columbia in terms of access to mental health resources And so in her piece Sharon Grigsby challenges people in all sectors government business and the faith community to step into this space and recognize that there is There already was a Great need and a gap in meeting that need and that it's likely that that that need is only going to grow In the coming weeks and months as folks continue to to grapple with the impacts of sheltering in place of broad illness and and loss of life in our communities in our nation and Economic insecurity and all the different ramifications of this pandemic and so I'm grateful to you to write that you recognize that need as well and that You've made it a a priority to be a part of this conversation and Hopefully we can be the beginning of an even broader conversation among our United Methodist Churches and groups again to step into this space and in a bold way So thank you for being on the call before I offer a prayer, I just want to lift up that The Center for Missionary Outreach is is not the only center that continues to offer Zoom gatherings as a way to equip our local church leaders And so there is another Another zoom call later this week Pulling it up now so I can give you the details But the Center for Leadership Development is Leading a call on May 12th. So I guess that's tomorrow evening at 7 p.m On a related topic actually on laity Christian caregiving in the focus is on laity the Panelists are Steven ministers and staff from first McKinney and it's the goal of this call to equip lay people with tools Address issues of anxiety and grief and other kinds of things that again are emerging in our communities. So I want you to be aware of that All right, so with that allow me to offer an opening prayer for us and then I believe Andrew Pfizer our associate director for the CMO is going to welcome some of our guests and Set the table for our conversation. So let us pray. Oh good and gracious God Our great physician the one who brings us hope and healing body mind and spirit God we give you thanks for this new day and we pray that you will open our eyes to see The opportunities for ministry and good work that is in it God as we gather this day, we lift up to you all those in our community and and truly in our world who have risen to this new day, but Because of Their own struggles, they're unable to recognize the hope and the light and the healing that is available Those for whom a cloud looms overhead God we we lift up particularly women and children who Whose vulnerability has again come to the surface and who are experiencing domestic violence and abuse and these circumstances around the pandemic And God we lift up those just who are experiencing some of the whole host of challenges mental health challenges that We are learning or a part of of this pandemic experience God may may you give us the compassion and the courage and the wisdom to come alongside them and step in to Into that need in that space in a way that will Help us to be a part of your healing work and that will Give you glory Bless our conversation. It's in Christ's name. We pray you know Amen, and thank you Andy and thank you all for being here this morning and thank you to our panelists who will help set the table for our conversation this morning as I introduced them and as we dive into a Conversation about where they specifically are encountering the mental health impacts of 19 I'd love for you to be able to use your chat feature Through zoom to ask questions not only for the panelists, but questions about What you're really thinking about or even mentioning some of the encounters that you're having in your own context both our panelists and Then later Dr. Brad Schwal who's here on our Call as well, we'll be able to join us in offering some resources and thinking through some of the ways that we can be in ministry and helpful presence For those who are really struggling through this time So let's begin as Introducing our guests. You're here with us this morning. I've got Pastor Veldah turnly if you'll wave wave at the crowd From St. Luke United Methodist Church St. Luke Community United Methodist Church And she is the pastor of discipleship small groups in prayer France Francis Smith Dean is the executive director of the Zan Wesley Holmes Junior Community Outreach Center which you'll Know a little bit through the Frasier house work that they do Laurie Kendrick is the licensed clinical social worker who Works with the care ministry at Christ United Methodist Church in Plano and Mike Flynn who is the Pastor and is a director of the care ministry there at Christ United Methodist in Plano's we have a variety of contexts And we're hoping to hear a little bit more from them about what they're seeing so You know whoever is is ready to share I'd love for you to tell us a little bit about the mental health concerns that you've been encountering in Your ministry context are there are there trends that you're seeing Right now Okay, well Andrew, I think you have me to go first here. Good morning everyone. Thank you for having me Of course, we are seeing I think what our country is seeing But I want to put it in the context of our mental health ministry We have now been in existence for five years now at St. Luke We started out as an endeavor working with our kingdom families ministries and We moved into a format that was around a discipleship and formation model and so out of that came our mental health support task force and that task force Decided that we were going to move forward with addressing the issues that were facing Families through a kingdom families model So a model of ministry that says whatever happens to one person in the family affects the entire family and So we are seeing that right now through this cobit 19 related pandemic So our marriage ministry has reached out to us To engage us around what is happening with married couples families or all together in one household now and That sometimes puts a stress on moms and dads Children are trying to find their space where they were working through issues relating to virtual learning at home and So everyone is trying to find there a place in space In that system that has now been really challenged based on all of the events that are happening in In our world. So what what we have been doing? We meet once a month Relative to our support group and educational component and we've decided to as we Dr. Bowie has said it pivot in our pandemic We're pivoting in such a way that we've moved everything obviously to our virtual learning space But we've done that and and when we did that we saw that our numbers grew Three times Relative to what we were having in our face-to-face environment So the stigma that sometimes comes with mental health Has now allowed us to be able to reach people who may not want to be seen Uh, so they're on they're on the zoom call and some of them choose to be silent So we realized that we're immediate. We're meeting the needs of people through our educational component and our support component So we have switched all of our we had a schedule that was mapped out for 12 months To address all of the issues that relate to mental health But since the pandemic we have changed our format to and our topics to reflect Everything relating to COVID. So we did some anxiety work We we have been dealing with depression We have invited some of our young people into our space We we're working through a crisis right now with some of our young adults and our youth and so we have six months that we've now prepared for our married couples ministry Around mental health. So those are some of the things that we are seeing and those are some of the ways in which we are Choosing to address what's happening currently, but our main goals are to provide support through our monthly meetings and to leverage those resources of training and in education and to Provide a referral system I see some of my some of my colleagues on the phone on the on the call right now Dr. Nantz has been with us before and we've coupled and partnered with others that are on the line and we are Reaching out and referring where we need to So the Halliburton Foundation has been working with us in a particular situation that we're going through right now and That's where we see our strengths and the way we are going to continue to move forward and We know we know we're going to have to be flexible and fluid in this very very challenging time Thank you faster. Turnly. That's that's a great way to pivot in a pandemic Dr. Puey said Incredible others. What do you what are you encountering and how are you responding? I I Frances Smith Dean of the Zan Wesson Helms Junior Community Outreach Center I'm Basically, we are encountering a lot of emotions Breaking down of that emotional system on how our clients are dealing with this transition one of our Signature programs, which is low voltage that we do a training and placement Many of our students are Dealing with the fact of now. How do I manage a day-to-day life with kids at home? or maybe staying with parents and other family members and so We teach what is called emotional intelligence. We go through our module that deals with resiliency and an emotional intelligence our training deals with the ability to Identify and manage your emotions on a daily basis In our course for our students, we also deal with therapeutic wellness, which is being able to write a journal and That seems to help a lot if you can't get in touch with a therapist or If you can't and get in touch with those resources Are you still on track? Are you still doing or meeting the day-to-day goals that we help set in the beginning? It's not that you divert from it But it means that you have to go back and reassess or re Analyze where you are now and where you need to go I'm case in point many of our Lobocha students were placed on jobs in the construction industry and Some of the work has been scaled back. So that meant what economically? They had to transition So in our increments of success class, we taught them you can now Focus on a different aspect of your economic stability plan Instead of that active income. Let's look at maybe you need to do business with Amazon There may be a product or service that you could sell so Getting them to one Get in touch with their emotions. This is not the time to panic for the time to pivot to Let's go ahead and reset and and I tell every one of our students. This is a great time to reset Don't you know, don't um get so emotional that you can't manage your feelings because a lot of our Individuals were formerly incarcerated So one that came to us with stigma, but as we say we're a house of refuge at Frasier house Your past does not matter to us. It's not how you start but how you finish We want you to finish strong in order for you to finish strong We now need you to put the tools that we taught you in place Let's talk about it. Journal about it Even if you have a down day, even if you didn't accomplish it get back up again and That's one of the keys To our success right now and then here's what happened as we took our students through it Then we got family members and friends and cousins and other people to want Additional training from us that we provided to our students and their families Thank you Francis. So we have this component of emotional intelligence that It's helping those that are going through training and have gone through it be able to deal with Access the kind of coping strategies that are needed for this time. That's that's incredible Others Lori Mike. Yeah, so I can speak. I'm a licensed clinical social worker on staff at Christ United in Plano And so I can speak from a therapist standpoint of clients that I'm seeing I see church members, but I also see people out in the community for private counseling Of course, everything's being done virtually now, which is not my preferred way to do counseling, but A lot of my clients have adjusted to that which is great. So I can still see them and talk to them during this time I'd say probably we've are as mentioned that the top things that I'm seeing are a lot of anxiety and stress Just around the unknown not having control over what's going on How do we know what the future is going to look like? Lots of concerns about job and finances I've had clients that have lost their job and of course they're worried about that We also have a lot of Parents that are under a lot of stress and anxiety right now And maybe Andrew, you're one of them because I heard a little one in the background there when you were talking So maybe you know where I'm coming from with this but Just trying to work do their job a lot of them work from home And also managing the kids and there's a lot of tension also with the couples to gather Particularly couples that maybe we're already struggling and then they're under You know this stress and together 24 seven and it's it puts a lot of strain on families right now Also see a lot of anger depression sadness frustration I've noticed that as the weeks go by this gets harder and harder I think a lot of my clients were doing okay and church members were doing Pretty well the first couple of weeks But as we get into april and now we're into may and we don't know what summer is going to look like I I see a lot more and I'm hearing a lot more anger and frustration over the situation and You know summer now that we've lost spring, you know, our summer is going away. We recently had to cancel vbs, which We hated to do that Mission trips and things like that. I guess are all on hold or maybe even cancel them in the course vacation plans I have students that are worried about what school is going to look like in the fall I might have a lot of people dealing with grief right now over Losses that they've experienced whether it's um graduation has been a big one obviously for our seniors and also for college seniors I have a client that is expecting a baby and you know, just her whole pregnancy has it's her first pregnancy So it's been very different than what she Had dreamed it was going to be like and that's been hard for her and hard for other people all these little losses that People are experiencing that these milestones celebrations and things that they're kind of hard to get back. So I spent a lot of time empathizing with my clients Normalizing what they're feeling letting them know they're not alone What they're feeling right now is It's it's what we how we would expect to feel and in a situation like this under all this stress and anxiety of the unknown So sort of normalizing those emotions talking about them Some some of my clients have had depression and anxiety before they know what it feels like so Helping them have some awareness around if your issues from the past are starting to ramp up again How will you know that what will it look like? And what is your um safety plan to to get help if you start to notice that you're um, you know Going down that same road of depression or anxiety that you've had before um working on coping skills That's a lot of what I do also Talking about we come from a strengths perspective As far as challenges that you've been through in the past and we've all had them in life. We've all had loss We've all had hard times How did you get through those those same strengths that helped you before will help you now? So let's dig deep and call on those and then also making sure that we have other coping skills to help us Um, and then doing those self-care things that we need to do finding the time to do them Connections are important with other people. I tell people, you know A lot of my clients are getting better about that as far as recognizing the importance of that and staying in touch with everybody I do have some clients that aren't comfortable with virtual type of connecting. So that's been harder particularly for our seniors and Just as a congregation, we have been reaching out to them more with phone calls And I know Mike can talk about that a little bit more but Just checking in with them on a regular basis. Some of them have family around so so they're okay But we have some that live alone and maybe don't have that support nearby so we do I do worry about if we're reaching everybody and and If we're able to help them, you know through this time the way they need to be helped We've done we've done podcasts Which have been good and we put them on our website. We've of course we live stream We've added a service during the week. We have a weekly update from our pastor We do videos on social media. Um, I've done some on for parents on the on the children's Facebook page things like that just Encouraging things what to do. Um, how to feel better how to reach out for people. I think just letting Church members know that we're there for them and and how they can connect with us is is really important right now That's that's the biggest thing but a lot of concerns over um as each week goes by it gets a little bit tougher I think for people I've had some comments about People noticing that they're drinking more and just having a hard time just really struggling I think to get through this so I'm glad that I'm there to be able to do counseling And a lot of people know that I'm there and reach out to me But um, I I do feel like we need we need to be doing more. I think as a church Both with our congregation and out in the community Thank you. Laurie and Mike What do you see? Yes. Good morning, everyone um as uh care ministry director at prices united We provide a lot of care ministry opportunities and to probably the most significant trends that I've seen these past two months Results from firstly our grief support I've noticed that those who have uh recently suffered a loss and are grieving This grief is further impacted by their isolation and their loneliness Resulting obviously from the pandemic So that provides a lot of opportunities To reach out and be creative and how we can Get through the isolation and help them deal with their grief whether it's through a zoom class for brief support Frequent pastoral care conversations and the line Another major area that I've seen impacted is through hospitalizations Where a lot of individuals are again isolated and very lonely Through surgery procedures therapy rehab, whatever the case may be So again, we have to be creative in how we connect And stay connected to these individuals and their families because it's not just the individuals But it's also their families that are also struggling and struggling with the losses and the hospitalizations so Looking at a lot of different creative ways to handle The connection points with these individuals regardless of where they are And what struggles they're facing at the moment Thank you. Thank you, mike so We're trying to wrestle with The fact that covet 19 is generally impacting Black african-american indigenous person of color communities far worse than others And this is a systemic justice issue That's impacted by Decades and centuries of of injustice But I wonder if Any of you can speak to how you see that At work in your own context of of doing this ministry Francis Smith, okay so for us It was very challenging because Many of the people in the community Did not practice What up when I say quarantine uh Distance distancing and so Making helping them understand and educating them see, um For the community was You know, it really doesn't make a difference. So we had to really go in And break it down and explain to them This is real. This is not a fossil long Because the community is very skeptical of the government and you know, I'm just being real with you all so Explaining to them the need to wear masks explaining with to them the need for them to wash their hands but Explain to them in a way where they would really engage and understand so We had to literally um I had to have a lot of conversations just with Different people one on one So that they could understand the seriousness of of covet 19 what it meant um So that they could they needed a trusted face in other words And I think sometimes um Church leaders Um have to be that trusted face And come forward and do calls like zoom calls with other uh church parishioners So that people can understand this is the real deal You're understand when you just hear it from government leaders It doesn't you know, it's like, okay, they're just trying to keep me in my house Something must be going on the 5g conspiracy that's coming out. You understand But if you had a trusted face in front It would have made a difference people were to react it differently. You understand what i'm saying because of The trust factor We're trusted in the community Because we're trusting the community We started getting bombarded with calls. I had to say this is the real thing. This is not conspiracy theory Because the first thing that came up was the 5g cell towers So as we started educating Even bella scott and white we're doing a luncheon or with them later in june We had to you know, we sort of got together and say, okay How do we now go in and educate the community? Because they weren't following the resistance how Dallas And as a result the numbers were showing And then when the grief started to hit we got like the Tight away of a grief that just came in as a result Then everybody started the alarm bells went off And people started now taking this a little bit more seriously so It's it's having that trusted face and I think um What I think as people of faith We have to maybe tell Our leadership and government We need some other trusted faces out front To say this is a real deal okay well Some of the things that we have been balling through is the mixed messages that are being counted in the media and We're now having to go behind like Francis said And be supportive leaders to try to convey the message That we know will be safe and helpful To our community And so what we've been trying to do as a pastoral staff is to model What it is that we believe are safe practices And so we have not been hesitate. We have not hesitated to wear a mask We have not hesitated to wear gloves We have tried to practice even social distancing even as we go forth in our worship celebrations That are now being held virtually Whenever we're in the building On campus We're practicing those Modeling matters that we believe are important. So Vicariously those messages we believe are getting through to our congregation When we when we zoom with them when we have and we are making connection points We're doing ministry The same in such that we are having still having Sunday school We're connecting in every point that we have generally normally done So it's building a comfort level that we can connect and we can see each other and We also have now started Talking to our congregation About what it is that they're experiencing and what their fears are all about The other thing that we're seeing is with our students. The digital divide is real And we are trying to find a way to help bridge that digital divide So our our student ministry is Reaching out in ways to make sure that we have Hot spots around For our students that do not have hot spots in our community We have three schools that we partner with And we've adopted and we're trying to make sure that those students Have hot spots because everybody doesn't have wi-fi We're trying to make sure that parents are able to be connected Not just through the school system be the school system As you know, we'll have a lot of buffers and and ways in which they protect students And so there are times when parents need access in ways that students do not So we're trying to find ways to build that bridge in the great digital divide And we're also finding that people are still afraid because they don't have health care So if they're having a regular event a medical event They're hesitating To try to get help And so it exasperates that situation And sometimes we have to really really really encourage them to reach out to their medical professionals Even in the midst of this pandemic to handle matters that are not covid related But because of what's happening with covid can be exasperated Our care ministry is has reached out to over 900 people now. I believe Just to make sure that they are connected When they get a phone call from their pastor encouraging them In in what's happening in their homes. It does bring another level of not only relief, but As I heard so often in the conversation Their grief is touched Just like we would if we were comforting them in other ways So our we we partner in the mental health ministry with our with our care pastors and our care ministry And uh, you know, we are now working through all all of the various different ways that we're now doing funerals Funerals in an african-american community are extremely important And we are finding that we cannot do those funerals in the ways that we have So we've been zooming funerals. We've been trying to touch Our families in all the ways that we possibly can to let them know That we are still there for them. Dr. Paula Dobbs Wiggins is a part of our mental health task force and ministry And so we're getting real Real-time messages from parkland hospital About what is happening there and how we can be a better support To our community through that avenue So, uh, we're trying to stay abreast of it, but it is a hard hard deal to wrap your arms around right now Andrew one of the other areas of care ministry across united is the assisted living ministry where we serve Several local assisted living communities And again, it's this theme of isolation Loneliness and obviously these communities have been hit very hard with the pandemic as well And this cuts across all racial ethnic socioeconomic status lines So what we're trying to do with that is uh, the theme of connection and staying connected Whether it's through zoom bible studies, uh, frequent pastoral care phone conversations A lot of these individuals don't have any family or friends in the area So this pastoral connection is probably the only, uh, hopefully meaningful connection that they do have We also have our weekly devotionals that we send We help them set up with live streaming for weekly worship services So these are points of contact to an otherwise sometimes forgotten community Local community So we're we're continuing to be creative in in setting up those connection points With the the elderly and the senior communities Through assisted living Mike thank you for that what we have also seen is that uh, it's important for us to continue With our conference lines now zoom is very helpful for many but for our seniors They're not always comfortable with that. So we have a practice for For years now with our prayer line and we've converted our prayer line into many different things now Because they're familiar with our prayer line. We're on it two times a week And so now we're also broadcasting our live worship experience Through our prayer line where our seniors can just dial in To something that they're already very comfortable with and we have seen that to be very successful as well That's great and uh along with that we do frequent Either weekly or bi-weekly what we call care calls to our seniors Who again may not be comfortable with the modern technology that zoom or facebook live offers So these care calls are very personal and intimate touch point with them Andrew something else that I wanted to add that we do at christ united We have a under our serving others. We have a program called project hope And that's our family assistance program. I'm the director of that program so one thing that I've started most of my clients in the program are single moms and a lot of them are african-american or hispanic They have no family support in the area So we've been doing um online zoom parenting support calls every sunday afternoon and that's been a huge A huge help to them. I think just to feel connected and again Kind of normalizing what they're going through getting the message across because as Was mentioned earlier, you know, sometimes there's that hesitancy to believe what's going on is this real So kind of Doing some education around that and encouraging them We have been making sure they had that their kids have the tools that they need to do their school work Whether it's supplying them with a used computer that we've refurbished making sure that they got their chrome books At school that they were supposed to pick up things like that Supporting the parents as much as we can with you know single moms. It's it's it's really tough Anyway, and then to be working from home and and managing the kids and the school work. It's it's really hard So i'm checking in with them at least a couple of times a week Just to give them emotional support tell them they're doing a great job We know that it's hard. We can get through this. We're here for you call me if you need anything And and it's it's made a huge difference to our parents So I wonder if we can switch gears here for a minute Oh one second Pick me up daddy. I know I know um So I wonder if we can switch gears here for a minute and um and hear from uh, dr. Bradshaw About some of the resources and and things that this conversation is bringing to mind for him Brad is the President ceo of the center uh for integrative Psychology and counseling here in dallas Uh, you may have known it as the past world counseling center previously um And brad's been a great resource for us trying to think through how do we Go about equipping our churches for the kind of I think it is one of the momentous institute Um interviewees in that article in the dallas morning news said a a tsunami of mental health concerns that's coming So brad what what is the spring to mind for you and what would you share? Absolutely. Thank you for having me and Really i'm going to summarize what I've heard each of those who've already spoken Shared and how it is so crucial uh before that It is just as important to take measures to address mental health Um as we focus on the coronavirus and and the impact that it has on us physically um My hope is that from this we can have just as much regular conversation about mental health One thing that has impressed me about what you are doing is Really the the directive has been that we'd be Uh physically different or distanced physically distanced Um, you have remained socially connected absolutely and that is just really really impressive and inspiring um, it's been fun and inspiring to see the Creativity uh that you have displayed and others have displayed and staying connected It's interesting to see as reverend eternally said that Attendance may even be up because there's a sort of a sense of privacy in being able to to watch and reaching new people So so while we've had to be physically distant um, you all are demonstrating that we can still be relationally connected And mental health is a life and death issue depression Can lead to death can lead to death from mental illness suicide And so my hope is that we can continue to share and talk and be open about mental health Some ways that i've heard each of those who have spoken Approach the issue of mental health Um is one community and that is something that is at the core of the church and has been ever since the church began You provide a sense of community that is grace-filled um, that is focused on Validating everyone's concerns and that's something that I heard lori say and that is that Your work has normalized the fact that it's okay to feel isolated It's okay to feel overwhelmed And i'll say something to each of you on that as well That you as helpers You as caregivers You as as individuals who have resources who have support need to realize that you need your own support Um, you may think oh, I I don't need it. You know those i'm serving. They are the ones who need help Where I I I have no reason to feel overwhelmed or sad No, you need to identify your own response to this and you need your own support So it is it is common for those who give care To be more resistant to to receiving it and recognizing it that you've been through That difficulty too There are different levels and different types of loss, but we all have experienced some form of loss in this Um, so you have provided community You have normalized emotions Validated those emotions and you can do that through sermons. You can do that by even coming up with Topics for your groups that focus on the different feelings that people will be having Um, you've mentioned several things. I believe it. I believe it was you francis talking about The needs of parents and managing their children, which andrew did just so beautifully there That it's okay to have a crying child. You just take care of the crying child But the needs of parents The needs of couples and what they are going through So focusing on that empathy for those felt needs The other thing that I hear you doing is providing practical education um francis talking about resilience emotional intelligence lori talking about The importance of uh journaling it may have been francis or lori talking about journaling And that is a practical tool So there is information that can help people And I hear you bringing that to people Um education can lessen fear education can help to build coping skills um, so developing those those habits That can help us to be well uh day after day and that that is something that I do think that this is bringing about Um is what what do we do to take care of ourselves each day? um, you know personally A part of who I am Is my relationships and so not being able to interact with my colleagues. So who am I? Without that interaction without that feedback In a non virtual way, but in a in-person real way um another Issue has been what is our purpose? Um having to change our routine um, certainly we haven't Abandoned our purpose and in some ways each of you there's an intensified call to your purpose Because you've had to find new ways to to do that Um, but I think some of those two philosophical factors of who we who are we when we're not with others Who are we when we don't have our regular routine in which we have more tangible ways of Of fulfilling our purpose um Some important things that I also hear you doing are helping people With those milestones. We depend on ritual. We depend on Uh those times in our lives where we are celebrating or even grieving a loss And so I'm inspired by the creative ways that you have been doing that graduation Uh funerals, um All of that is just such a loss And you are on the front lines. They're helping people find ways to celebrate those and I keep thinking that there may be other ways to retroactively celebrate some of these milestones when we can be together Um, but those definitely are our losses Um, and and then finally I like what you have said about that reset. It is a time when we can reset our priorities and reset how we do things um, I uh feel In some ways more connected to those with whom I serve Because we've had to find different ways to connect Um, I I sent the postcard of a picture of myself just so everybody remember me because I I don't I don't like not being with them Um, so I had to wave at them through the snail mail in addition to our our virtual meetings Um, some some practical matters that I do want to bring up in We do at the center want to be a resource to you Um, one of our therapist Kimberly Pearson was honored to speak to a leadership group in pastoral care at st. Luke's on helping with grief She also produced a video on helping with grief that I'll make sure that um, andrew has that he can Share with you We do have a youtube channel now where we are sharing videos Um on family life. Um, those videos also are in english and spanish Um, I've been able to do a number of channel eight interviews that have been on either we have on our website as well So at the center, we do want to provide help with education With resources that inform And so this also is an invitation to you that we are here for that and want to help In any way that we can So one one big issue That is I believe a justice issue and that is access to mental health care And our goal at the center Is to increase access in a number of ways One is geographically being located within communities We have 31 locations and a number of those are in Methodist churches. Um, for example First nine Methodist Richardson first united Methodist garland garland first United Methodist Waxahatchee Treats Memorial United Methodist church and flower mound And so by being where people live work play and pray We make it easier to get counseling because if you think about our days during non-quarantine days We're at work. We're picking up kids. We're at church. We're at home So we have this travel pattern and our belief is that the closer We can get to where people are the easier it is for them to obtain counseling um So by having locations from McKinney to Waco from rock wall to Arlington The idea is that we can cover as much of an expanse as we can Someone just commented on rural areas. I hope Uh that our move to tele-counseling during this shelter in place Is going to be something that is a springboard to resource more churches in rural areas and There may be those on this call that can help with that As already said we prefer in-person counseling and that is why we have offices in McKinney and Waco and rock wall and We want to go to where people are We have done tele-counseling before this Uh, but we are finding that it is a helpful tool Our clients have continued with counseling. We have had not had a drop-off in counseling and That says several things one It says that there's a need and that they are that those we're we're already serving Perhaps have had an increased need for support It also says that they are open to the idea of tele-counseling It even has helped with cancellations people are already Where they are and they're not having to travel They're not having to take that time away to get to the office So I do I am excited about how tele-counseling can help us with with access There's other issues related to access our our language We have 12 Spanish speaking therapists. That is important to us We always work to be culturally competent and Our our goal is to have a diverse staff. Our goal is to meet a wide range of needs across communities And and by the way, you can help us too. Sorry. I keep on asking for ways y'all can help We we want therapists who are high quality have an interest in faith and spirituality Are interested in in reaching diverse cultures and and different groups in different areas and different specialties children teens adults working with the elderly and so if you know people who are Licensed therapists or even those in training Send them our way because we have a great team. We have close to 40 clinicians But developing strong professionals is important to access as well So access related to cultural competence related to language Very very key Then we have the issue of insurance and finances Um, many do not have insurance or adequate insurance to cover counseling We address that in several ways one We partner with other nonprofits Obtained funding from foundations or funding that those Partner nonprofits have found to have therapists on site At those nonprofits because we believe that community members Trust that organization And therefore if we're collaborating they're more likely to trust us and then therefore Follow through on that referral Um, Wesley Rankin community center, uh, kim is on this call. I understand or no belief It's accurate that she's on their board Um, uh, but at Wesley Rankin community center having counselors there Working with the other staff helps it to be more likely that those Who are suggested or recommended counseling will take advantage of that Well, we just started a project with Texas health resources that has allowed us to be in the pleasant grove area And we're partnering with the salvation army there Um, we have 11 different nonprofit sites north dallas shared ministries Several locations in west dallas Um, we'd love to connect with the bethlehem center We'd love to learn more about your work at care in plano bottom line. We want to come alongside Um other organizations who are meeting needs and we complement and supplement that by addressing mental health needs Um, I believe that what we do in the church and in nonprofits not all of it needs to be Uh professional therapy Um, we need not separate The role of the church and say the church no the church can't handle that No, the church can handle mental health needs Our belief in god and one thing that this pandemic for me has brought up and reminded me is we're not in control Um, I can't do it alone. I need god and I've learned that in my life in other instances So we can't so we can't separate spirituality from our emotional or relational well-being. They are interconnected Um, but we must be aware That there are those times When professional support can help Um Someone who is knowledgeable about mental health about psychology Um understanding depression as a physical illness Um, I believe in many ways. Um, I know I have had times throughout this where there has been this Kind of a depleting because I do get fed from being Um with our team And that's emotional but depression also has a physical component to it. So when symptoms when Uh, that that loss of joy when that sense of despair happens over time At a strong intensity And it happens over time for a longer duration That's a sign that we may need support So likewise with anxiety Um, worry, um having difficulties shutting down our brain Um, when that happens and for anxiety we diagnose it based on A long a longer length of time because it's natural to have nervousness But bottom line as with depression with anxiety Intense symptoms over time Is a sign That support may be may be needed Um, and our goal with that is to help it be a part of Um a part of the work of the church A part of the work of nonprofits Um, so back to the issue related to access With non-insurance those who don't have insurance. We have our partnerships We also do work to have an adjusted fee scale And we work to find resources that help those who may not be at one of our community partners We have been very grateful to the center for missional outreach for a Matching grant that they offered for giving Tuesday now And that has been so helpful to have some funds available For those who have lost jobs and lost insurance So we see those who have insurance who have resources We see those through those transitions that they do lose a job And then we work to go into communities where traditionally there is less access Due to a lack of insurance or inadequate insurance. So That is definitely a part a part of our mission So a couple of things before we go on Andrew. It's set aside time for question answers We are Taking new clients through our regular phone number our website And we are available for counseling it is tele counseling But as I said, we have created systems to make that as relatable as approachable as possible We take and we see people who have insurance. We work with people Who who are struggling financially or who do not have insurance? When you refer and we'll send you a link with information We want you to know that we are in all these different locations But really all you need to know is just our phone number and our website Because we work with each person who calls to find the best place and the best therapist for them So we are here and ready to receive those who you believe may need counseling Never hesitate to contact me Call me through the main office Look up my Email find me you can find me. I'm happy to talk to you directly We have a good solid network of church locations Always open to finding areas and churches who do want to increase their emphasis on mental health We have talked about ways with st. Luke's with kimberley pierce and for example Um, she has an office at cliff temple baptist in oak cliff. So we try to find One of our locations that has sort of a radius of reach Um now with tele counseling we can see anybody anywhere, but certainly we're going back to in-person counseling Um, so referral looking for ways to collaborate as far as even location Um, and then also keeping in mind educational opportunities training for staff So I typically don't do as much of a uh commercial like that But I care about what y'all do and um, I I want us to be able to be partners uh with you Um, you know kim mires had a has a podcast and I was able to be on her podcast A while back and so even before kovat 19 Um, I am aware that all of y'all do uh work creatively to reach people. So Um, those are my thoughts more we could say but I want to allow for the the flow of conversation andrew I also recommend bubbles uh for your mental health Very helpful Yeah, and that's also helpful in two-year-old sunday school I did learn that you know at the end when the parents are all coming to pick up their kids Get out the bubbles and memorize and then everything's great. So little bonus tip. Thank you, andrew I do love the good good bubbles. Yeah, that's great. That's awesome um, so I wonder um, either using your chat feature or You have the ability to uh unmute yourself if you would like to Ask question or share another thought that comes to mind throughout this conversation This is mary miridi from wisest global um and um I deal mostly with africans mostly people from kenya and uh they are type of the people also that um Don't want to expose themselves to the people that they know And they don't know the people that they know to know what they are going through So I feel fortunate that uh, Dr shower spoke I feel that If I can connect with him and it connects My people with him it could be of help or his stuff could be of help because They don't know them he don't So he they know that he doesn't know people that know them So to be able to you know to leak the information or something like that and So I I feel privileged and I feel excited about this um, I am uh Besides being a clergy in the conference. I'm also a chaplain with the military and so I deal I know how to gauge them because I deal with a lot of mental issues with the military soldiers and Undeserve and sometimes I before quarantine I used to visit them in their homes because they have They are civilian jobs when they are not With us and so I I have seen a lot of Different behaviors that when I observe my people I can be able to sense all this going on So I would be happy to connect so that I can start introducing them to your Organization and so that you can see how they can benefit from it Very good and and mary. Thank you for that and that does bring up a point Um Know those to him to whom you refer There there needs to be a sense of trust and you need to feel good Um about referring And the closer the connection is the more likely that individual will follow through so mary what what you're talking about We get so specific as making sure you know Whom you can speak to at the center now, you know, we have a client services team that can all be of help But sometimes we might say um, here's one person asked to speak to this person um Often we might even set up funds that are available to make That initial counseling easier, but but bottom line One key to getting help to people In the encouragement is that each of you knows those to whom you are referring Because it can increase the chances chances that somebody will follow through with that and There are processes that we can set up to make it easier The bottom line Have that knowledge and I believe that creates a more successful referral Because counseling is I mean it does take courage people don't know what to expect They don't want to know others are struggling and You know quite honestly, I think that's uh the case even with those who know counseling is great, you know That when it comes to us individually, um, it sometimes can be uh daunting. So thank you for that mary I have an observation and want to ask about I don't know how Significant it is but I've noticed that the people that are participating in this, um Zoom meeting this conference about mental health are mostly women And so I'm wondering what that means In terms of how we're responding as as a as a church and Just You know, just just curious about that um Francis Smith Dean we see 90 percent of our clients are men, um, but Women are on the front line in our organization And we're nurturing But you have your point is well taken um And I have a session a crying session for all of my, um, Lovoges students When things are, you know, seem over the top I just allow them to cry and break down So that they can still Go through that what what I call emotional withdrawal But it just happens that We have a team in a staff of women 90 percent of the people that we see are men and they just We're nurturing and and that's about that's all I can really say. We're just a nurturing group of individuals And this is my as far as Christ united is concerned We have a very robust group of Stephen ministers And I would say it's an equal ratio of female to male Stephen Stephen ministers Which tells me that there is the need just as much for men or For spiritual support and guidance As there are women it's been very very successful as far as how we've been able to Assign those male as well as female Stephen ministers to the needs as they've come up So I'm I'm glad that the males in our in our congregation are open to allowing that That spiritual support and assistance as much as as the women are so I'm grateful for that So we also are we also are having some questions Via our chat about being able to mark With rituals like I think you mentioned Brad Graduations into the year Does anybody have any recommendations about that your examples One of the things that we have been doing and we have it scheduled. I believe it's May the 24th for our our graduates and any graduate that would like to present we're going to have a pictorial collage of all of those that are graduating from our community our church And they're going to share with us what high schools they're graduating from And what their future is going to look like for them And we're just going to stream that all through our Throughout our morning worship on that Sunday And then we're going to invite them into our new st. Lou community cyber cafe Which we do over Our prayer line so that they could come in and celebrate their time with us And we as a community share that Time of celebration with our 2020 graduates We're doing that time in our worship service. Um, I think it's the first weekend in June where we're going to pause and Have families, you know lay hands because Graduation is vital and important and those people those kiddos those seniors need to be loved on deeply But the kindergartner who is ending their kindergarten year Also, we believe needs to have an end cap And so we're we're we're doing a prayer time Where we're just you know asking families to lay hands on them and recognize that You know and look them in the face and say you are now a first grader And we're so proud of what you've accomplished and what you're about to do We're hoping to do some drop-offs at um, like the fifth graders who will be sixth graders like give them like a t-shirt for our youth group or something You know, we're just kind of so I was just wondering if anybody else had different Um ideas of how they're Helping we're also um a part of that is the those who are retiring from the school system um It's not a great year to retire. You know no cake and punch. So um, we're We're adding that to the prayer list also For that moment You know, we um at first Sherman. We were really struggling with the preschool Our preschool took their spring break and then they never came back and so One of our staff members had a four-year-old and was just in my office one day balling Because we still go to the office a couple of hours A week and so she came in mind. She said my her daughter was not going to do her pre-k walk so What we did and we have a really creative preschool director who We spent two days With every student basically coming in at their assigned hour And their parents were in the sanctuary and they walked down the aisle and they're a little cap and gown um and had a graduation picture from preschool taken right and so um And they videoed it and now every parent has the video of all the kids walking So you know and it was just enough for some of those parents who for whom it's like their last child in the preschool Or it's their first child in the preschool. They were the ones that really wanted this Uh and it was just that little thing and it took us two days to do it And it was basically eight hours a day getting all those kids that they're in their slot and But I think it's important even for those littles Right and the parents of those littles to have some kind of normalcy Um because for them that was normal. That was the expectation even though they hadn't been back to school and we are doing the High school You know thing I wanted them, you know, it was interesting because I actually offered the kids to do like a three minute video each But none of them wanted to videotape themselves. They were happy with a picture and some details Um, but we are making care bags for each one of those kids and we will drop it off at their homes and um You know the response from the kids was what you expect from the kids, but it was the parents Who were just so appreciative And so excited that you know, we had thought this through a little bit But I think it's important that even though it's not normal It feels like the normal thing you would do For those kids and I think that's what parents want almost more than the kids is the sense of My kid is still accomplished something and the church that they grew up in is going to acknowledge that and that for us has been really important for people so Denise you make a good point. I I've actually seen a lot of parents that are taking these um Cancelled graduations just as hard if not harder than the student themselves. They just You know, especially if it's the first or last child, they've spent years just anticipating that event and You know, it's it's gone So a lot of them who were very involved especially the moms and dads who were very involved in the schools very involved in planning proms and things like that They're really taken at heart. So I like the idea that you had Of celebrating the seniors that way for the parents as well as for the kids We we had a recording of ours. What would have our typical senior sunday? and so we recorded it on saturday at the church and then um without the students knowing the Church members were invited to come right after that service and they had to drive the students all stood outside There was a big sign Congratulations class of 2020 and then cars drove by and honked And we had to drive by parade for the students as they Kind of kept their distance well, I want to thank our guests who are here with us today and um Appreciate all the ideas That you have generated all those that have been participants in the call What we will try to do what we will do is create a notes document that will include Hopefully all the links as we can get them that people have offered Some of the ideas that people have offered And post that online to the ntc umc.org webpage you'll find that on the missional outreach subpage which is our center as well as the coronavirus resources page that's on the main Page and you'll see that immediately Across the banner on the website So we'll offer that and then an edited version of this recorded video So that if any of you want to go back and watch it for something that you might have missed or if you Want to forward it to someone else that you think might be it might be helpful for hope you'll do that And if any of you uh continue to have insights or connections that you'd like to share Please email me or andy lewis You can find my email address on the website or it's fizer fis er at ntcumc.org Um And we will try to post those and get those out and there's andy lewis's email address on the chat feature So andy would you Before we depart offer a word of prayer and benediction for us Will again, uh, thanks to all of our our speakers um Brad, thank you for being with us today and lifting up the resources at the center that are available to all of us and I just I just want to Send you forth before a formal word of benediction um By saying that I mean as I look at each of you and your images on the screen and the names of those who are part of this call um I know many of you personally um You know you have gifts And you have a positional opportunity To to meet needs in a really impactful way With regard to again the mental health and relational stresses and strains that we've named and And so I hope that you will embrace that opportunity take that authority as we sometimes say There's there's a lot a lot of good that we all can do together so So go forth with this benediction and go forth and May the grace Of our god the love of jesus christ a fellowship of the holy spirit empower us and strengthen us and unite us in the ministry moving forward and may those in our community who Are in need of support and encouragement find in us Friends who are generous with their gifts and time Uh, may the spirit move in and through us to bring healing to our world I go in peace