Marilyn Sewell's Sermons to Air on Public Access TV
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Mental Health Action Group
The members of this action group come together to promote awareness and understanding of mental health issues across the lifespan within the church and community. Their goals include: 1) to facilitate informed discussion; 2)to encourage actions that foster connection, hope, and fairness; and 3) to build awareness of available resources.
During the church year, our regular meeting date is the 3rd Sunday of the month, 12:30 p.m. in the Channing Room. MHAG members include First Unitarian church-goers who are one or more of the following:
- People who are interested in mental health
- Mental health professionals
- People with mental illness
- Families & friends of people with mental illness
All are welcome. For more information, contact Helen Gerhardt: 503-524-3122.
UPCOMING EVENTS:
The Mental Health Action group is co-sponsoring two showings of the movie Canvas. This emotionally charged story of one family’s struggle with mental illness stars Emmy Award winner Joe Pantoliano, Academy Award winner Marcia Gay Harden and newcomer Devon Gearhart.
Writer/director Joseph Greco explores mental illness through the eyes of a child as he learns to cope with his mother’s schizophrenia in a sincere depiction inspired by the filmmaker’s own childhood. The tough topic matter is addressed with a surprisingly uplifting and sometimes even humorous tone that illustrates how from tragedy springs hope, growth and understanding in this remarkably heartfelt tale. Doctors and members of the mental health community have been rallying behind the film, many declaring Marcia's performance to be the most accurate portrayal of schizophrenia they have ever seen in movies.
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Hollywood Theatre
4122 NE Sandy Blvd.
Portland, OR 97212
7:00 PM (Doors open at 6:30 PM)
(503) 481-4215
Thursday, May 29, 2008
First Unitarian Church of Portland 1211 SW Main
Portland, OR 97205
7:00 PM (Doors open at 6:30 PM)
For free registration, please call (503) 416-7502, or e-mail sjohnson@paylessdrug.com, or fax (503) 372-1792.
DVD copies of the movie will be for sale at the Mental Health Action Group table in Fuller Hall after services on the second and fourth Sundays of the month.
The Interfaith Council on Mental Health invites any interested persons to an Interfaith Service of Hope, May 17, 2008 at 7:00 p.m. for people with mental illness and their families. It will take place the night before the NAMI Walk (see below) at St Philip Neri Catholic Church,2408 SE 16th Ave (near 18th and Division) Portland, OR 97214. All are welcome.
NAMI Walk
The Mental Health Action Group will again be walking in support of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) on Sunday, May 18, 2008. The 5K walk will take place at the Vera Katz Eastbank Esplanade Festival Area on the Willamette River. Check-in begins at noon; the walk starts at 1:00. Join or support the Mental Health Action Group's team, Dorothea Dix Descendents. Walkers are encouraged to get sponsors, although this is not required to participate nor is there any walker fee. Anyone who cannot participate on the day of the walk, but would like to donate may do so by following this link to our teampage: Dorothea Dix Descendents.
For more information about the walk or to join our team, NAMI NW Walk May 18, 2008.
NEW:
Support Group for Parents of Children in Residential Treatment
The Mental Health Action Group announces the beginning of a confidential support group for parents of children, adolescents, and young adults who are currently in a residential treatment program (eg. therapeutic wilderness, therapeutic boarding school, residential treatment center). Parents of children who have been in treatment or who are thinking about placing their child in a treatment facility are also welcome. The group will be facilitated (on a rotating basis) by a parent. The purpose of the group is to reduce the isolation that many parents feel and to provide support to parents dealing with a child struggling with mental health, behavioral and/or drug and alcohol issues.
This group will meet on the 2nd and 4th Wednesdays of the month from 7-8:30 pm in the Buchan Building, Room B001 (lower level) beginning Wednesday, Nov. 14, 2007. Enter the Salmon Building (1011 SW 12th Avenue) from the 12th Ave. alley between the church buildings. Proceed to the Buchan Building from inside the Salmon Building. For more information and questions contact Pat Phelan by email at phelan@educationalconnections.com.
Healing Power Discussion and Study
The Mental Health Action Group is pleased to announce a new and ongoing book study group based on the work of Dr. Philip Shapiro, M.D., Healing Power: Ten Steps to Pain Management and Spiritual Evolution. Our goals are to explore the connection between body, mind, and soul; to learn how to use the suffering of life as a stimulus for spiritual power; and to learn how meditation, mindfulness, and other spiritual methods lead to peace of mind, forgiveness, and a host of other spiritual qualities.
Healing Power is open to seekers of all faiths, and participants may include healthcare and counseling professionals; consumers of healthcare services; and other people wanting to learn methods of effective pain management. Healing Power is based on spiritual concepts, methods, and practices taught by the world's great religious traditions. It does not promote a particular religion, but promotes the development of your individual approach to spirituality.
Dr. Shapiro has agreed to facilitate the first few months of this book study group as it becomes established. Participants are encouraged to read through page 89 of the book before attending a session. No charge. Meets Mondays 3- 4:30 p.m., beginning Mon., January 7, 2008; Room B310 (3rd Flr. Conference Rm. Buchan Bldg). Enter the Salmon Building (1011 SW 12th Avenue) from the 12th street alley between the church buildings, and ring the bell. Proceed to the Buchan Building from inside the Salmon Building. Questions? Contact: Ryan at healing_power@nwlink.com.
Some of our past activities…
- October 25, 2006 U.S. Senator Gordon Smith Speaks on Suicide Prevention
Gordon Smith visited First Unitarian Church to discuss his book Remembering Garrett, about his son's suicide. Read more about it here. Click here to listen to this lecture. (Photo: l-r, Police Chief Rosie Sizer; U.S. Senator Gordon Smith; MHAG Chair Helen Gerhardt; Social Justice Director Kate Lore.)
- March 2006 QPR Training
(Question, Persuade, Refer…Suicide intervention training) In collaboration with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) and the Youth Suicide Prevention Coordinator for the Oregon Department of Human Services, we provided QPR training to 24 participants.
- May 2006 Out of the Shadow
We co-sponsored a public showing of the documentary Out of the Shadow at the Hollywood Theatre. Filmmaker Susan Smiley participated in the panel discussion that followed the showing. The film chronicles five years in the life of Millie, Susan’s mother who suffers with schizophrenia. About 300 people came to the screening, making it the largest public showing of the film to date. See www.outoftheshadow.com for a movie trailer or info on current showings on PBS and elsewhere.
- May 2006 NAMI Walk 2006
The Mental Health Action Group participated in the 2006 NAMI Walk, a fundraiser for the National Alliance on Mental Illness. Our team from First Unitarian of Portland was one of only three churches participating in the Oregon walk, and we were the largest among the three church groups.
UNITARIAN HISTORY AND MENTAL HEALTH
Visit the website for the Starr King School for the Ministry to read: The Spirit of Dorothea Dix: Unitarians, Universalists and the Mentally Ill by Barbara Meyers:
http://www.sksm.edu/research/papers/mentallyill.pdf
Dorothea Dix was an internationally recognized advocate for people with mental illness. Dix visited first Unitarian Church of Portland and her friend, Rev. Thomas Lamb Eliot, our first minister, in the spring of 1869.
RESOURCES AND WEBSITES OF INTEREST
National Alliance on Mental Illness
National Mental Health Association
National Institute of Mental Health
American Foundation for Suicide Prevention
American Psychiatric Association
American Psychological Association
Campaign for Mental Health Reform
Report of the Presidents New Freedom Commission on Mental Health
Mental Health Resources for Veterans (from National Alliance on Mental Illness)
Central City Seekers Al-Anon