Mental Health of Church Leaders often dismissed

            Heather Morrison dives into the issue of mental health of everybody involved the church, specifically Pastors and Ministers. In many Christian churches, the mental health of these church leaders is dismissed if it is brought up that one is having trouble. This conversation was brought to light when a church leader in California, Jarrid Wilson, committed suicide a couple of months ago. Two pastors got together after this and decided they had to have a conversation with the people about mental health, so they planned the GC2 Summit. At the summit, it was to be specifically discussed the mental health or pastors and everything that they go through on a daily basis. Along with that, how their well being is often looked over as they are too busy making sure everybody else around them is okay.

            There is some stigma that comes with the mental health of a church leader. It is to be understood in many Christian churches that the mental health of an individual is in God’s hands, and if one has enough faith they shouldn’t experience things like severe depression and anxiety. However, many pastors have found that’s not the case, they have so much faith in God but they still don’t always feel okay. Many of them have a fear of talking about their mental health which results to many choosing to take their life instead.

            A survey in 2015 reported that over half of Christian church leaders felt that their job was overwhelming, and only 34% of these leaders felt that they had true friends (Morrison.) These numbers show that even church leaders need to be checked up on, specifically because they don’t have a lot of people that they can be open with about their well being. In the past, Pastors have been removed from their Pastor position because it was revealed that they were taking medication for depression/anxiety. This is the reason why so many of them are afraid of speaking out on how they feel. These leaders are supposed to be okay all the time because other people rely on that well being, when the reality is that’s just not how it is.

            Many pastors are not encouraged to participate in hobbies outside of the church because they may get burnt out or put their mental health at risk. However, Derwin Gray is a pastor in South Carolina and he has found the exact opposite. Gray puts aside time each week to go fishing because that’s his self-care. He doesn’t let anyone tell him otherwise, he does what he knows is best for his mental health. Gray also encourages that every pastor should find something they love that allows them to relax. Gray has found that he enjoys life a lot more when he finds time for himself to relax and rest within the week.

Morrison, Heather. “Wheaton Summit Examines Mental Health and Wellbeing for Clergy.” Religion News Service, 6 Dec. 2019, religionnews.com/2019/12/06/wheaton-summit-examines-mental-health-and-wellbeing-for-clergy/. Accessed 6 Dec. 2019.

Muslim Americans: Incarceration and the struggles that follow insertion into civil life

                “The honest struggle” documents the struggle that a young man encounters when trying to emerge himself back into civilization after being incarcerated. Darrell Davis was incarcerated when he was 18 and was released 24 years later at 42 years old. This man, along with all but 10% of incarcerated Muslims, found his faith behind bars (Khan). Davis explains that he used his faith to stay clean while he was behind bars. As there were lots of opportunities to continue his gang activity behind bars, his faith is what kept him clean and able to re-emerge himself into society to his full potential.

                When he was released, there was a community Muslim program available for him called “Green ReEntry”, which had transitional housing and on-site job training available for him (Khan). Without this program, Davis would have had a much harder time immersing himself back into society. There are a couple of these types of Muslim programs across the countries with the same purpose. Across the country, it appears that the Muslim religion is so very common in our correction facilities due to the common teachings of Islam that already exist within the prison. For example, two rival gangs were rioting in a prison and the Muslim community within that prison paid the debt of which was causing the riot in order to end the violence.

                Much of the inspiration for the ReEntry program comes from Malcom X and his life experiences (Khan). Malcom X too, found his Islam faith while incarcerated. Like many of the Muslims incarcerated today, Malcom X experienced a good amount of racial prejudice and was able to turn his attitude towards prejudice around while incarcerated. Going into prison, he held the belief that violence was the answer to the racial problems that were going on in the country. However, coming out of incarceration he was able to take violence out of his ideal solutions for racial injustice. The change of mind that Malcom X had while incarceration appears to be very common with other young men who come out of incarceration as a converted Muslim.

                The transition from incarceration to civil life is not an easy one for so many reasons. In America, the Muslim communities on the outside want to make it known that they want their fellow Muslims to come home and serve a purpose. Green ReEntry and many other programs are there to help these individuals get through the initial hardship that no one likes to talk about; getting a drivers license, having a little bit of money for food and clothes, having a roof over their heads, and finding a source of transportation and income. Being a part of the Muslim community and finding this faith while incarcerated gives many of these individuals opportunities to realize that they matter and there are people around them who care and want to see them make a difference in their community.

Khan, Aysha. “Film Follows ‘honest Struggle’ of Formerly Incarcerated Muslims Reentering Society.” Religion News Serivce, 27 Nov. 2019, religionnews.com/2019/11/27/film-follows-honest-struggle-of-formerly-incarcerated-muslims-re-entering-society/. Accessed 1 Dec. 2019.