Congregational Guidance for Just Such a Time as This

Perhaps you and I have been called for just such a time as this…. called as humble yet bold emissaries of God's truth at a time when history itself is swinging on a hinge...

Perhaps you and I have been called for just such a time as this…. called as humble yet bold emissaries of God's truth at a time when history itself is swinging on a hinge...

Decades of discourse led by lawyers, scientists, economists, and we are stuck. They can’t do what must be done: reach the human heart. (1)

This is not a dress rehearsal. The entire world is immersed in unrelenting, multidimensional crises. These crises are not ideological. They are rooted in reality: nature, science, medicine, and mathematics. Suddenly, we are all living with the same mortal fear – anxiety that no ideological anger or assurance can reduce. Each of us must decide how to behave, what matters most, who we listen to, and how we can be of help.

Not only do psychiatrists and pastors care about their clients and parishioners, they both care about the mental health of their communities. These concerns were in full force when I joined three psychiatrists to lead a workshop at the annual meeting of the American Psychiatric Association in NYC in October 2019.