Welcome to the Advent Season, a time of waiting and hoping for the coming of the Good News of the birth of Jesus of Nazareth in Bethlehem.  Advent is the start of the new Christian liturgical year as well as a time of preparing for Christmas, a mixture of the spiritual and the commercial rituals and activities. The Advent wreath and the Christmas wreath share ancient beginnings. The ancient Romans celebrated the Festival of the Sun  on December 25, waiting in the darkness for the return of the sun. During the winter, the evergreen was a symbol of life in the bleak mid-winter. Evergreen boughs were brought inside and attached to a wheel to represent the circle of the seasons in the Northern hemisphere. many

The Advent w4eath is a similar wheel with evergreen boughs and candles lit each week of the Advent season as we await with hope and expectation the coming of Christmas, the Feast of the Son, Jesus Christ. This is a time for us as followers of Jesus to slow down and lean together in the midst of the world’s hustling and rushing about. Rather than rush to the crowded mall, we gather with friends and families to sing hymns and hear Scripture readings of prophecy and promise for love, hope, joy and peace in this world of injustice and evil. We gather together in our homes and in our meeting houses to hear the eternal Word of God, so desperately needed in our daily lives and in the entire world. We are urged to stay awake, to stay alert for the signs of God’s presence among us. We need both to embrace the darkness and to slow down so we can understand more fully the meaning of the light of God in Christ.

May this season of Advent and Christmas be a time of blessing and meaning for each of you whethee you are with us in worship or absent from us in other places.

This is also a time which can be difficult for those with mental illness, or close to someone who has mental illness, or is suffering in any way the loss of health, or a loved one or of other circumstances. For those who are living with the loss of any kind,  this season can be difficult in the contrast between darkness and light of emotions and thoughts.

Can you think of someone with mental illness who is a part of our community of faith? How do you relate to that person? How can you help that person become more involved in the life of our community?

Mental illness is a brain disorder, a biologically based medical problem. More than five million American adults suffer from an acute episode of one of the five serious brain disorders: schizophrenia, bipolar disorder (manic-depression), major depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder and panic disorder. In addition, more than three million American children suffer from one of these brain disorders or mental illnesses. Without treatment, such disorders seriously disrupt a person’s ability to think feel and relate to others or one’s environment.

In the last fifty years, scientific research has come to understand the biological and chemical basis for brain disorders and the development of treatments that work. The current success rates for treating each of these mental disorders have increased greatly. Although mental illnesses can be diagnosed and treated as effectively as many other medical disorders, the stigma and ignorance and discrimination continues in much of our society, including our religious communities.

Brain disorders cause terrible confusion, fright, isolation and loss of personal worth. Mental health consumers or persons with a mental illness and their families struggle with shame, blame, anger, tension and discomfort due to social ignorance about mental illness. The stigma attached to persons with a brain disorder lead to further feelings of disgrace, dishonor and social avoidance. Persons with such disoreders need to be accepted and affirmed in every area of our society.

Alongside my parish ministry work, I have been employed many years with human service organizations which provided resources and support for adults with mental illness. What can people of faith do to respond to these human needs among our brothers and sisters?  We can educate ourselves about the different forms of mental illness. We can reach out and touch them, open up our minds and hearts, listen to them and their supportive advocates withoin our community of faith and in the wider society of school, work, neighborhood and recreation.

We can stop blaming those with a brain disorder for being the way they are, as if it is their choice or thinking that caused their illness. We can give sympathetic support and understand to those who have a brain disorder and to their families and friends. We can help break the bond of silence and ignorance and share with each other what we know and how we can help each other.

We can provide support and encouragement for those who are learning to manager their symptoms and live with their illness. We can become involved in community support organizations,such as the Alliance for the Mentally Ill, which work together to provide education and advocacy.

I believe that our religious beliefs and practices will be strengthened as we learn from each other, using our gifts of mind, body and emotions. As you think about someone with a mental illness who is part of our community of faith, may you be encouraged to reach out with a caring hand and word. May God bless each of us in our journeys through life.

Yours along the journey of life and faith,

Pastor Bob Loesch