Annual meeting workshop: Welcoming, Inclusive, Supportive, Engaged: Is Your Church WISE?
"Just World Covenants" are resources for any setting of the United Church of Christ to learn about and become local advocates for a variety of faith-rooted priorities for justice, love, and welcome. The Mental Health Network of the UCC supports a program called WISE for ministry with all who are affected by mental health challenges.
Many of our churches have grown tremendously over the past few decades in our awareness for the need to talk about and destigmatize mental health care. But in such a complex field where responses may require clinical expertise, we're often not sure how to best meet the needs of our communities. W.I.S.E. is not just for big churches, and not a one-size-fits-all plan -- any organization can benefit from becoming W.I.S.E.! Dr. Harvey is a psychologist and has been working on the WISE team of the Mental Health Network for the past 5 years, actively certifying churches as WISE. She will speak of her own passion for this work, which is born of personal tragedy, engage our enthusiasm for this ministry, and give us a step by step guide for our own WISE program. Dr. Harvey's family has roots in the Oklahoma City area and she's delighted to be coming back for our Annual Meeting!
Dr. Vicki Harvey