How we long to reconnect and process the turmoil and loss of these times! While our psyches take in significant losses of many types, we also catch glimpses of hope and rejuvenation. How can we make sense of our recent experiences and move forward in our congregations and our communities?

On November 6, the EHF Congregational Engagement Team will host an in-person Mental Health Summit in the restorative setting of Camp Allen. Senior Congregational Engagement Officer Eric Moen notes, “this interactive gathering will nurture our spirits and help us consider how we can support wellbeing in our communities. I also suspect it will just be pretty darn fun to meet up in person again.”

The agenda for the Summit was developed by a design team of faith leaders and mental health professionals from across the diocese, including the Rev. Bob Flick (Good Shepherd, Friendswood), Sandra Grimes (St. James’, Austin), the Rev. Jan Halstead (Christ Church, Cedar Park), the Rev. Micki Rios (Trinity, Baytown), and Dr.Paul Wick (Christ Church, Tyler). The team was guided by mental health partners Lynda Frost and Anna Jackson and drew on the Liberating Structures repertoire, with the aim of fostering lively participation and engaging participants in meaningful work to regenerate, focus, and move into the future with purpose. Participants can expect a day of meaningful reflection, contemplation, and reconnection.

Design team member Micki Rios says, “We hope at the end of the day, people will return home having connected with like-minded souls, refreshed our spirits, and found a new vigor for engaging in our communities. And perhaps some good memories and smiles as well!”

Hotel rooms at Camp Allen are available for Friday night.

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HIGH-LEVEL AGENDA
Morning:
– Welcome, Reflection, and Reconnection
– Making Sense of Our Experiences, Together
– Key Concepts in this Period of Transition: Grief, Trauma, Compassion Fatigue, Burnout, and Renewal
– Connect with Nature

Lunch

Afternoon:
– Explore the Natural Cycles of our Ecosystems and in Our Own Lives
– Possibility, Hope, and Drawing on our Strengths
– Closing
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To see the agenda and register, go here: EHF Mental Health Summit 2021

Join the Episcopal Health Foundation in-person for the first time in over a year and a half to reconnect and make sense of all that we have experienced alone and together during the pandemic. The 2021 Mental Health Summit will not only be important for faith-leaders and lay people as they turn to focus on what our collective future holds, but it will also be restorative and rejuvenating.