Dear Friends,
This coming Saturday, October 30th, at 7.30pm David Trafford and Kathy Bamber will be giving a concert. Just as a concert it will be worth attending. It will be ‘quality’. If you can, come along. You will not be disappointed. But it is more than ‘just a concert’, it is the latest in a series of fundraisers on behalf of the Dennis Scott Mental Health Unit at Edgware Hospital. Over the years we have raised money to provide outdoor gym equipment, as well as delivering gifts at Christmas for all the in-patients, providing a strawberries and cream tea in the summer, and other regular donations…A person’s mental health – everyone’s – has come under intense scrutiny during the pandemic. Many of us have found ourselves under pressure in so many ways. Enforced lock-down bringing about any number of situations which have resulted in people’s mental health being compromised. Just as with the unpredictable nature of so-called ‘long Covid’, so it is with the long-term effect that these last eighteen months have had upon our mental health. Hence the need to ensure that with all the talk of billions of pounds being made available to recover lost ground as far as the NHS and Social Care sector is concerned, that mental health services, be they in-patient or community led get their fair share. But as with all aspects of public service provision, the need for charitable donations never goes away. In the area of Mental Health, we give thanks for the ongoing work of the likes of MIND and MENCAP, but it is also important that we as a church continue to do what we can to support our local service provision, particularly as far as Mental Health and Well-Being is concerned…And it is worth reminding ourselves that people of faith – e.g., Christians – are not immune from the ravages of struggling as far as one’s Mental Health is concerned. It is often the case that extreme circumstances such as those forced on so many by the pandemic impact themselves spiritually, creating what might be termed a ‘crisis of faith’ which in turn manifests itself maybe physically, but more likely mentally. To find oneself in such a predicament as a Christian is not of itself a judgement upon the strength of one’s faith, rather it causes us to realise that even as Christians, because we are human, we remain vulnerable to anything and everything that life throws at us. Even Christians worry, are anxious, get stressed, feel down, suffer from depression, panic, mood swings and so on. Even Christians feel the effects of loneliness, addiction, relationship breakdown, family argument, physical illness, unemployment, economic hardship, disrupted sleep patterns, boredom and so on. All of these are cause and consequence of one’s Mental Health suffering. Hence not only need we give practical, tangible support to everyone who is working in the area of Mental Health – professionally or as a volunteer – we need also to be sensitive to each other, and supportive of one another. Rediscovering what the New Testament describes as ‘loving one’s neighbour as oneself’ Who is my neighbour? The person in need. Every person. So, if you can, come along on Saturday evening. Otherwise, be mindful of one another…