With increased loneliness, isolation and mental health issues affecting communities across the country, places of worship have a unique role to play in improving the overall wellbeing of individual and community life.
A recent Wall Street Journal article, “The Mental Health Benefits of Going to Church,” highlights the important role that houses of worship play in giving individuals a sense of community and belonging. The unique role that spiritual leaders play in the lives of many Americans highlights the opportunity these faith leaders and communities have to improve the overall well-being of Americans who struggle to find a sense of purpose, identity and mission.
To bring more attention to addressing mental health-related issues within houses of worship, Sanctuary Mental Health Services, Porter’s Gate Worship Project and Duke Divinity School recently teamed up to launch a curriculum called the “Sanctuary Course” and “Sanctuary Songs.” The Sanctuary Course is a course that trains church members to learn how to support those experiencing mental health issues, and Sanctuary Songs is a complementary worship album that focuses on themes related to mental health and faith.
Currently, approximately 2,000 churches across the U.S., Canada and the U.K. are benefiting from this resource, and approximately 300,000 people have completed the course in Sunday School-style small groups.
Esther Larson, senior director of programs at the Philanthropy Roundtable, recently sat down with Isaac Wardell, director of The Porter’s Gate, and Daniel Whitehead, CEO of Sanctuary Mental Health Services, to learn more about the collaboration and how philanthropies can further their impact.
The following interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Q: Tell us about your collaborative projects “Sanctuary Course” and “Sanctuary Songs.”
Wardell: For Christians, one of the most regular and consistent places of spiritual formation is the weekly worship experience, where, through the sermon, corporate prayer, and singing together, we gain the words and the tools to speak about the struggles we face.
Many of us have even found ourselves recalling the lyrics of a song or hymn that resonated with us during difficult times. I’m struck by how many churches feel like they don’t have the language or tools to talk about mental health in their worship services. My hope with the Sanctuary Course and this new set of worship resources called Sanctuary Songs is that we can provide churches with the language to talk about the mental health journey in a way that is both biblically faithful and emotionally powerful.
Whitehead: At Sanctuary, we believe that music and art can help people connect in conversations about mental health – when we can’t find the words to describe our feelings, situations and experiences, art and music can help us.
It is also Sanctuary’s goal to change the culture of the church to be more hospitable to people during the crisis, and music is one of the most powerful discipleship tools the church has. For us, collaborating to create music that better reflects the full range of human experience by reimagining a more biblical vision of worship through lament and honestly bringing troubles to God in community seems like critical work, especially in this historic moment when so many people are seeking hope.
Q: How do you see the intersection of faith practice and mental health?
Wardell: There are many stories of someone with a spiritual problem approaching a pastor or youth pastor and having their first opportunity to discuss the issue. At that critical moment, a wide variety of outcomes can occur. At worst, the pastor may be wrong or ill-informed, leading the parishioner to feel that their spiritual problems are a sign of spiritual deficiency or personal sin. At other times, the pastor may simply not know how to talk about it, leaving the parishioner feeling isolated and anonymous.
But we’ve also heard some really amazing stories where talking to a pastor has been the first step in a healing journey when they’ve been able to destigmatize mental illness and point the person in the right direction, and we want to help more pastors and church leaders achieve these kinds of outcomes.
Whitehead: Sanctuary Mental Health Ministries was founded 13 years ago in response to research showing that when people are experiencing a mental health crisis, they are more likely to turn to their church than their doctor. The problem is, the support people get from their church is often nonexistent at best, and unhelpful or harmful at worst. Faith and mental health go hand in hand, because at the core of our faith is the belief that we can bring it all before God, and that He has a plan of salvation for every human experience, including difficult ones.
Q: You’ve successfully launched the first iteration of this project and received positive feedback from the faith community. Can you explain what your initial project, “Sanctuary Course” and “Sanctuary Songs,” was about and what impact it has had?
Wardell: Over the past two years, we have seen these songs and prayers used in at least 2,000 churches, and we receive emails and notes every week from individuals and church leaders thanking us for these worship resources.
Whitehead: In our recent Annual Report, we detailed some of the feedback we have received from those who have listened to Sanctuary Songs, and we are also able to report that numerous churches across a vast geographical area have incorporated Sanctuary Songs into their worship services.
“I believe there is much more that can be leveraged in the field of Christian music through this project. I believe Sanctuary Songs can be looked back on as a key moment that helped advance the re-emergence of lament and brutal honesty in sung worship. This will be a good thing for many in our congregations who often have to suffer in silence because of prejudice to hear their experiences sung in community, as it was when the Jews heard the lament psalms sung in community.”
Q: What does success look like for this project working with young people on mental health? How do collaborating organizations think about the indicators of success and impact?
Wardell: One of the goals of this project is to get more churches across the country to discuss mental health in small groups, through worship services and counseling activities. We’ve seen many individual churches begin this work, but next year we’ll also focus on conversations with pan-denominational and larger church groups to ensure the entire church system is adequately resourced. In collaboration with Duke Theology professors Warren Cahorn and John Swinton, we’ll be hosting a gathering this fall of scholars, mental health professionals, and musicians to raise awareness of the project.
Whitehead: What’s exciting about our upcoming youth series is that for the first time, we will be conducting in-depth pre- and post-survey research to track and report on changes in attitudes and practices in response to the Sanctuary Youth Series. This will be a definitive, publishable study in partnership with a third-party research organization. At a fundamental level, success will depend on young people and those who serve them gaining a common framework and language for understanding faith and mental health, so that young people can bring their authentic selves to church and truly incorporate their faith into their mental health journey. We’re also excited about the potential for intergenerational conversations about faith and mental health to emerge as we have joint resources for young people and their parents.
Q: How did you fund this work? Did you need any special funding to make this project happen?
Wardell: Funding to date has come in the form of private donations and grants. Many of the private donors and family foundations who are committed to this work are families who have been personally affected by mental health issues. I believe that as more families recognize the great need in this area, they will be interested in working on solutions that address mental health issues, especially in ways that are consistent with our Christian faith and biblical values.
Whitehead: All of Sanctuary’s work relies on the generous support of donors and foundations. While we are close to reaching our fundraising goal for our youth series, we are always looking for help to create new resources and increase awareness of existing resources among faith communities across all denominations, cultural backgrounds, and geographic locations.
Q: Is there anything else you would like to tell donors about why they should consider mental health funding as part of their giving portfolio?
Whitehead: As I look back at history and the role the church has played in meeting very real needs in society, I wonder what history will say about this moment and the church’s response to this overwhelming challenge in our society. Personally, I believe the church should be at the forefront of the conversation about mental health, helping the world understand alternative ways of dealing with this issue, one that is based in psychology and faith, and that always elevates the value and voice of those who suffer.
The Church has everything it needs to maintain this place in society. But unfortunately, the Church is often too afraid or lacks the appropriate frameworks and terminology to take the lead in re-humanizing people in the midst of a crisis or in reassuring people that God is still near to those who are suffering spiritually. I foresee a day when the Church will be known for its deep, compassionate love and care for those in spiritual crisis. But we still have a long way to go to make that happen, and we need all the help we can get.
To learn more about how Philanthropy Roundtable is supporting donors addressing our nation’s mental health crisis, please contact Esther Larson, Senior Director of Programs at Philanthropy Roundtable. here.
