By Sharon Boudreaux
Tenn., began looking for new ways to serve its congregation and community, longtime member Cleva Marrow didn’t
W
hesitate to speak up. Marrow, who’s in her 90s, was among the early
residents of this wartime boomtown that was built around the Manhattan Project. The death of a longtime spouse and the effects of aging had at times affected her mental health, and she knew she wasn’t the only one. Marrow suggested Grace start a mental health
ministry and volunteered to be its first team member. Others whose lives had also been touched by mental health issues stepped up as well. “Having experienced the effects of depression
and anxiety, I wanted to help others,” Marrow said. “I believe it’s God’s work because it directs us into a path of service, love and caring for our fellow travelers.” Marrow’s use of the word “travelers” seems
fitting because the focus of Grace’s mental health ministry is on journeying toward recovery. Its mission is to lend support and encouragement; promote understanding and reduce stigma; provide assistance to those in treatment and recovery; and actively promote wellness.
30 OCTOBER 2016
hen Grace Evangelical Lutheran in Oak Ridge,
Sammie Harris (middle) addresses the group gathered at a mental health ministry program. Since they started in 2014, the programs have ranged between 20 to 80 in attendance.
With enthusiastic support from Stephen Damos,
who was then pastor of Grace and is now retired, the ministry focused its first event in 2014 on congregation members who were willing to share their mental health stories. “Through my own experience I was able to
testify there is recovery—you can conquer, prevail and restore,” said ministry team member Karla Cummings. “Even at your lowest point, recovery can be just around the corner.”
Ministry in community Encouraged by the attendance, the ministry team began planning monthly programs for both the congregation and community. Members connected with experts to be presenters, including those within the congregation. Since then program topics have included
suicide prevention training, grief, caregiver support, adolescent drug use, senior depression and more. Wellness and treatment topics have included mindfulness, gratitude, yoga, and art and music therapy. Attendance consistently
The mental health ministry at Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church in Oak Ridge, Tenn., invited music therapist Erica Buchhammar to present att one of their monthly programs.
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