14 October 2011
To mark World Mental Health Day, a new joint initiative was
launched at Church House, Westminster this week between the Church
of England and the 'Time to Change' Campaign.
The C of E's mental health group and the Revd Eva McIntyre have
teamed up with Time to Change to create a pack for churches,
providing ideas and resources for churches to plan worship on the
theme of mental health. The pack is available for free download on
the Time
to Change website.
"It's really exciting to be working with Time to Change in this
important campaign," said Eva McIntyre. "Statistics tell us that
one in four people in the UK will suffer from a form of mental
illness during their lives - in every 20 people in church, four are
likely to have experienced some form of mental illness.
"That statistic is based just on the people who go to the GP for
help, so the real figure is probably even higher. If we can take
away the stigma associated with talking about mental illness, more
people will feel able to access help, support and justice.
"Churches are seen as places where support and acceptance can be
found, so we really need to educate ourselves about these issues,
so that we don't get it wrong when people do open up and talk about
their struggles."
To celebrate the launch on World Mental Health Day on 10
October, members of the C of E's national Committee for Ministry by
and with Deaf and Disabled People, chaired by the Bishop of
Blackburn, signed the Time to Change pledge to work to end
discrimination against people with mental illness.