April 2017
By Ramona Tausz
Calvary Lutheran Church in Wood Dale, Illinois, recently started a faith-based support group for people with mental illness, in partnership with the Natinal Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) in DuPage County.
“I wanted to see our church reach out to the community and be in support of this particular area,” Rev. Richard Heller, pastor at Calvary and a licensed clinical professional counselor in the state of Illinois, said. “The more I was studying mental illness, the more I was beginning to see that there’s a need in the community for giving support to individuals.”
The group, which started in January, meets on the first and third Wednesdays of every month at 7 p.m. at Calvary. Heller leads the group, along with a representative from NAMI DuPage. Every meeting, they lead a simple discussion: attendees are invited to share their stories, and everyone joins in encouraging and supporting one another.
The group welcomes anyone of any age who has or has had a diagnosis of mental illness— including schizophrenia, various phobias, bipolar illness, depression, or any other mental diagnosis.
“It helps them feel less alone,” Heller said. “They know they’re not the only ones going through some form of mental health issues.”
Heller said he had been hoping to start a support group at Calvary for some time. After reaching out to the NAMI branch in DuPage County, he and the leaders there realized the Wood Dale area had a real need for an individual support group.
“At the time, people in the Wood Dale area had to go quite a distance to Wheaton or other areas,” Heller said. “We thought this would be a primary area to begin a support group.”
NAMI’s mission is “to provide support, advocacy and education in order to improve the quality of life of individuals with mental illness and their families.” The group at Calvary, however, is NAMI’s only individual, faith-based support group. As a result, people who attend are invited to bring up issues relating to religion or subject matter that relates to God.
“That can be an encouragement to them; they’re not alone because the Lord is with them,” Heller said. “It can be helpful for them to know they’re not alone physically, and they’re also not alone spiritually.”
According to Heller, one out of every five people has had some sort of mental health issue, and one out of every 17 has a chronic mental health issue. But while many people—even within a church community—are probably struggling with mental illness, many may never speak up out of fear of being stigmatized.
“It’s tough for people to verbally express that they’re going through some form of mental illness, especially in the church environment,” Heller said. “They may feel that they don’t have a strong enough faith or something of that nature.”
Everyone, he said, must become more cognizant of the grave reality that a mental illness can pose.
“People need to be aware that mental illness is similar to what other people experience as physical illness,” Heller said, “whether it be cancer, diabetes, or anything of that nature.”
He suggested that those within the church community should strive to create an environment that welcomes and nurtures those struggling mentally.
“There are probably members of our churches struggling with mental illnesses that wish they could be more free to express how they’re struggling and have support, especially to have somebody who can pray with them and encourage them in their faith during that time,” Heller said. “That would be a real blessing to them.”
For more information about Calvary’s support group, contact Pastor Heller at the church office, 630-766-2838. To learn about NAMI DuPage, or to find out about starting a support group in partnership with NAMI, check out NAMIDuPage.org.