I was grateful to be able to participate in our Annual CBOQ (Canadian Baptists of Ontario and Quebec) Virtual Assembly this past week. The theme of our time together was MEND. There was recognition that all of us have been frayed and perhaps torn in places by the effects of what we have experienced these last several months of this pandemic. Individuals and churches need to MEND. We need God’s loving hands to guide the stitches and we need to feel the hope of mending for the places where that’s needed. Part of my experience at Assembly involved attending a Learning Session around Mental Health Issues called, “The Walking Wounded”. The presenter has had his own personal journey with mental health issues. He challenged us to consider, “What are we doing to support people in our churches with mental health issues”? We were invited to think about how we can make our churches safe spaces for people living with the effects of mental illness. The importance of listening and caring was emphasized. There is a Scripture from 2 Corinthians 1:3 that was offered as inspiration for a desire to listen and to care and to provide safe spaces for people who are hurting. There we read, “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort.” Our God is the Father of compassion and as we pray for and support one another in the areas in each of our lives that we need mended, we can create safe spaces. Tomorrow June 16th at 1 pm for our WEDNESDAY PRAYER TOGETHER, we will have opportunity to pray specifically for those who deal with mental health issues and those who support them. We will pray for all of us in the areas where we are hurting and struggling.
Thanking our God that He is the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, Pastor Lola
Our Father God we come to you now grateful that You are for us a God of compassion and comfort. Thank You that in Your compassion You do care deeply for us whatever we are going through. In our prayers today we recognize that everyone has had times of stress and struggle during this pandemic. For some of us the impact of the pandemic has further affected various mental health issues. Today we express our desire to care as You care for people. We want to build relationships of trust so that people can feel at home with us and in our churches. God, You offer us safety in Your Presence and we do want to create safe spaces for anyone in our churches. God please forgive us for when we have not taken time to listen and to hear what people may choose to share about what they are experiencing. Forgive us for when we may not have not supported people needing to have medical care as well as spiritual care. God the way that You have designed us as human beings is miraculous. Each of us is a delicate balance of who we are physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. We pray for the way these aspects of who we are can best be discovered and expressed. In our prayers today we hold before You those of us who experience various forms of anxiety and depression. Thank You for ways that have been found to help with these mental health issues. Please provide ongoing courage for dealing with who we are and how we are every day. Our God we are asking that You will help us to be honest with ourselves and You about what it is with which we struggle. We think now of those of us who have lived with panic attacks and for whom life has felt so very out of control. God some others may not begin to understand, but we know that there are those who do understand and we are certain that You understand. For some of us our God sleeping at night is very difficult. You know how it is trying to cope during the day when there has been very little sleep at night. You know how exhausting it becomes to toss and turn at night and not to settle for rest. You Father God are well aware of eating disorders and substance abuse issues and how these affects individuals and families. We are confident that all of these struggles are known to You our God. We ask that You will have us continuing to reach out in loving ways and noticing and caring about whatever anyone is facing. We pray for those who care for and support those who struggle. Thank You God that You know and You care. Thank You that You have given us each other to accompany and to care. We know that none of us ever walks alone and we are trusting You to guide us in being available for You to love through us so that others will be convinced that this is true. In Jesus’ Name we pray. AMEN.