Questions Concerning The Church & Mental Suffering, New Resource in Church Worker Wellness

ONLINE – Church worker wellness is one of the many issues that has been magnified amid the COVID-19 pandemic, especially as it pertains to matters of mental and spiritual health. The President’s Ministry Council (PMC) released a letter in May of this year encouraging Circuit Counsellors, in particular, to become acquainted with the supports that are available to pastors and church workers and their families through the Worker Benefit Plan (WBP). This letter detailed many of the available resources that may be especially valuable during this time of increased isolation and heightened anxieties. The letter concludes with a reminder that church workers can, and ought to, reach out to their Circuit Counsellors and Regional Pastors for additional support and assistance.

Ongoing efforts have been made to continue to improve the availability and accessibility of online resources of this kind, as well as other types of resources, to assist and support our pastors and church workers as they serve in their vocations. The latest resource on this front is a Q&A style interview with Rev. Dr. Harold Ristau entitled: Questions Concerning The Church And Mental Suffering [PLEASE NOTE: Sensitive subject matter is included in the actual resource, including discussion of topics like suicide and suicidal ideation. Discretion is advised].

This Q&A is divided into eleven short sections, dealing with topics such as:

Shame, guilt, and other pressures facing pastors and parishioners
Mental illness and spiritual warfare
Ministering in abnormal circumstances

Ristau serves as Associate Professor at Concordia Lutheran Theological Seminary (St. Catharines, Ontario). As both a parish pastor and military chaplain, Ristau has ministered in various multicultural settings providing pastoral ministry and crisis counselling in unique contexts. He is an author of a wide range of books, including At Peace with War: A Chaplain’s Meditations from Afghanistan, which received a CDS commendation for its benefits as a training tool in preparing military personnel both mentally and spiritually for overseas deployments. He has also written extensively on spiritual warfare and spiritual resilience.

It is of vital importance that church workers, clergy, and parishioners alike remain mindful of their spiritual and mental health, after all, you cannot “pour from an empty cup.”

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God” (2 Corinthians 1:3–4 ESV).

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Related Resources can be accessed directly via the buttons below:

Suicide Safety & The Church

Church Worker Wellness