Short summary of presentations and topics discuss
Briefing on Welcoming Movement and Welcoming Congregations Stephanie Kreps
Stephanie Kreps from ?? shared the Unitarian Universalist (UU) explained the spiritual practice of “welcome”. Unitarians recognize that religious spaces haven’t always been welcoming places for all people, especially when it comes to gender and sexuality. For 25 years the UU have worked hard to make sure lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer people are full members of our faith communities.
Being welcoming means striving for radical inclusion, while creating spaces that honor every part of our identities, backgrounds, and experiences. Welcoming provides a congregational community the constant spiritual practice of doing and stretching for our welcome to grow. Welcome in congregations is practiced by:
- Promoting inclusivity and using inclusive language
- Creating welcoming spaces, including gender neutral bathrooms
- Saying our welcome out loud and in print and online
- Building our welcoming skills as congregational leaders and greeters
- Deepening our understanding of identities that differ from our own
- Offering sexuality education for the entire lifespan
- Preventing discrimination in the process of hiring a minister
- Engaging in justice ministry in our communities and the wider world
- Regularly engaging in Welcoming Congregation programming and ministry (see below)
Briefing on Campaign to Change Direction – Dr. Barbara Van Dahlen
The Campaign to Change Direction is a coalition of concerned citizens, nonprofit leaders, and leaders from the private sector who have come together to “change the story” in America about mental health, mental illness, and wellness. Dr. Van Dahlen invited the entire CoP to use the Five Signs of emotional suffering and actively change the story surrounding mental health, mental illness, and wellness for your organizations/groups/communities. An easy way to share the message as by plastering this poster all over your buildings and communities. This is a link to the First Lady’s invitation to join.
Federal Partners Updates
2nd Annual Meeting of the Community of Practice – October 1st from 9-5
m at the US Dept of Health and Human Services room 800. Drug Czar Michael Botticelli will be joining us. More to come in July.
World Hepatitis Day
Every year on July 28th, World Hepatitis Day aims to increase the awareness and understanding of viral hepatitis as a major global health threat. All types of viral hepatitis can cause inflammation of the liver; however, hepatitis B and C infection can result in a lifelong, chronic infection.
The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that nearly 400 million people have chronic viral hepatitis worldwide and most of them do not know they are infected. More than 1 million people die each year from causes related to viral hepatitis, commonly cirrhosis and liver cancer.
The date of July 28th was chosen for World Hepatitis Day in honor of the birthday of Nobel Laureate Professor Baruch Samuel Blumberg, who discovered the hepatitis B virus.
Please join us at an event you can find one here.
Consider taking this this 5 minute Hepatitis Risk Assessment developed by the CDC to get
a personalized report, and then share it with community members.
Announcement of Revision to the Department of Health and Human Services Guidance on Procedures for the Provision of Marijuana for Medical Research: Currently, marijuana is a Schedule I substance under the federal Controlled Substances Act. Schedule I substances are defined as having high potential for abuse and no currently accepted medical use in treatment. HHS will support the development of a report on the state of the science to identify pressing research questions and guide future research efforts.
Community News
Muslim Mental Health Annual Meeting: The Community of Practice to join the 8th Annual Muslim Mental Health Conference Agenda on “Peace & Justice: Building Harmony Between Psyche & Law” to be held in Dearborn, MI on April 21 - 24, 2016.
The Mormon Mental Health Association announced their second annual one-day conference on July 29th, 2015 at the University of Utah Student Union Center. To register or learn more check out the MMHA conference here.
Please respond with any suggestions of news items or presentations.
Resources Mentioned on the Call:
Family Assistance Project™ (FAP) is a research, intervention, education and policy initiative that works to prevent health and mental health risks for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) children and youth, including suicide, homelessness and HIV – in the context of their families, cultures and faith communities. We use a research-based, culturally grounded approach to help ethnically, socially and religiously diverse families to support their LGBT children.
FAP has been putting research into practice by developing an evidence-based family model of wellness, prevention and care to strengthen families and promote positive development and healthy futures for LGBT children and youth. Linked here is a training on their family-based prevention and intervention approach.
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