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Mental Health

“One way we can equip Christians to go beyond mere inclusion to the discipleship of every person in Christian worship is to use language that acknowledges and values people who live with mental illnesses as image-bearers of God who fully belong. While it is important for worship to include broad themes of struggle, pain, and confusion in prayers and preaching, it is also important to name mental illnesses along with physical illnesses in worship. The language we use in worship plays a role in discipleship, shaping how we see others and ourselves in relationship to God, how we pray with petition and thanksgiving, how we interact with each other, and how we understand the ultimate purpose of our lives. In other words, worship leaders have an opportunity to disciple the whole body of Christ—including those directly affected by psychological disorders and those who love and care for them—through the weekly ways we speak, sing, pray, and preach. What we say and how we say it matters.” 
—Charlotte VanOyen Witvliet, “Speaking Well in Worship about Mental Illness,” © June 2018, ReformedWorship.org, CC BY-NC-SA.  

Featured Mental Health Resources

Mental Illnesses and Worship: Prayer, Lament, Language, and Discipleship
Discipleship Lament Mental Health Prayer

The following discussion is from the second part of a session led by Dr. Charlotte vanOyen Witvliet, Rev. Cindy Holtrop, Dr. Warren Kinghorn, and Dr. John Swinton at the Calvin Symposium on Worship in January 2018. The first section appeared in Reformed Worship 129 and dealt with the promises and pitfalls around public worship and mental health. The rest of the session focuses on prayer.

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Mental Illnesses and Worship: Promises and Pitfalls in Preparing for and Practicing Public Worship
Body of Christ (the church) Differing Abilities Mental Health Worship Planning

The following is an adapted transcript of the first part of a session led by Dr. Charlotte vanOyen Witvliet, Rev. Cindy Holtrop, Dr. Warren Kinghorn, and Dr. John Swinton at the Calvin Symposium on Worship, held in January 2018 at Calvin College, Grand Rapids, Michigan. In this first section they discuss together the promises and pitfalls of worship and mental illnesses. The remaining portion of this session focuses on prayer and will appear in RW 130.

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More Mental Health Resources

Mental Health Resources

Making room for all to worship fully requires addressing mental illness.

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