Alhambra - The Gateway City

7th Annual Mental Health Conference for Faith Leaders
by Esther Siu, City Intern

Last Thursday June 5, 2008, Mary and I attended the 7th Annual Mental health Conference for Faith Leaders, 2008. The title of the Conference was, “Empowering Individuals, Families and Communities”. The conference took place at the California Endowment Building located next to the Union Station at the heart of downtown Los Angeles. The event was free and it drew a crowd of about 250 leaders of different faith communities. According to the conference spokesperson, this was by far the largest gathering. The support indicated the concern for mental health wellness across religious lines.

After the opening ceremony, the first presenter, Craig Rennebohm, the founder of “Mental Health Chaplaincy”, spoke. The title of his talk was, “Out of Depths: Mental Illness, Spirituality and Caring Community”. Dr. Rennebohm has worked with the homeless population in Seattle, Washington, many of whom have mental illnesses. He shared passionately about his own struggle with depression. Then he gave suggestions on how to befriend those with mental illnesses living on the streets. They are often very lonely. The key phrases he used were “coming along side” and “having/demonstrating compassion”. It reminded me of Jesus as he reached out to the leper who wanted to be healed. The acceptance and embrace were as important to the leper as the actually healing.

After a sumptuous buffet lunch and some networking, the afternoon session began. The presenter was Rev. Siang-Yang Tan, PhD. The title of his talk was "A Spiritual Perspective on Mental Illness: Sin, Sickness, or Satan”. Dr. Tan said there was a time when all mental illnesses were thought of as demonic possession. Then there was a time when people thought mental illness was a myth. In his view, both were wrong. In order to accurately diagnosis the mental illness, Dr. Tan suggested that we needed to know the root causes. It could be brought on by guilt, a moral cause, or an illness such as the chemical imbalance of the brain or an evil spirit. In each of these situations, the treatment should be different.

The afternoon program included the interfaith panel and other workshops. It is important for the faith community and mental health community to work together for wholeness of the individual and community. Both play vital roles in the healing and wholeness process. Our hope is to be instrument’s of God’s shalom.