Alhambra - The Gateway City

As We Journey Together in Alhambra:
Mental Health Task Force Roundtable Discussion with Alhambra Pastors
May 22, 2008 by Esther Siu (City Intern)

Last Thursday, May 22, at 9 a.m. at the First Baptist Church of Alhambra, about 25 Alhambra Pastors gathered together for a roundtable discussion hosted by the Mental Health Task Force of Kingdom Causes Alhambra. I was excited to greet them as they pulled up at the parking lot and walked into the room. For those of us who did not get a chance to have breakfast, we were delighted to find hot coffee and fresh donuts waiting for us! We felt immediately at home.

Once settled, Mary Glenn, Executive Director of Kingdom Causes Alhambra, gave a brief introduction and made everyone felt welcomed. From the surveys we collected, there were main issues to be discussed. We divided the topics. Mary, who had been a youth pastor and Dr. Christine Wong whose expertise is in youth and family hosted the first table. The discussions centered on youth issues such as gang related activities in the schools and cross cultural relationship in the families. There were a lot of good discussions as Pastors shared their experiences and situation in their congregations. The question was, “How do we make the Gospel message relevant to the young people and serve families more effectively?” It is a real challenge to church leaders since the community of Alhambra is quite diverse.

Laura Depp, a Licensed Marriage and Family Counselor and Kathy Ermeling, a Certified Grief Counselor hosted the second table. Their discussions centered on the topic of depression. Laura gave a general introduction on how to recognize depression while Kathy spoke on specific situations such as depression among the elderly and those who are grieving. There was a lot of interest in the material presented and good sharing from Pastors. The discussion ended with a question and answer time. Everyone went away having a better grasp of this illness that has touched and changed many people’s lives. Time went by quickly. After the discussions, we broke into small groups for prayer.

It was a wonderful to be part of this experience. The Pastors of Alhambra came together with a sprit of unity. I am reminded of Nehemiah who prayed and encouraged the people of Jerusalem to begin building the city wall as it lay in ruins. The people responded, ‘“let us start building,” So they committed themselves to the common good.’ (Nehemiah 2:17, 18) We too have begun to rebuild our city walls!