CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The 9th Annual All-Lutheran Candlelighting for Mental Illness is sponsored in October by the Lutheran Network on Mental Illness/Brain Disorders. The network is a program of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod.
The network developed a "litany" -- a series of prayers to be read by a worship leader with responses to be read by the congregation -- and asks Lutheran congregations to reprint and use it during their regular worship services on any Sunday in October.
"We are asking congregations to decide on a Sunday in October when they want to use the litany," said the Rev. Lisa Cleaver, director for disability ministries, ELCA Division for Church in Society. "We've suggested they light a candle either in honor or in memory of someone with mental illness."
"The purpose is to raise awareness of people who are living with mental illness," including the individuals and their families, so the rest of the congregation "can be as supportive as possible," Cleaver said.
"It's really important for congregations to understand mental illness, especially if they have someone who is experiencing that in their congregation. It's an illness that is vastly misunderstood, and the best way to fight misunderstanding is education," Cleaver said.
"I would suggest and hope that congregations would not just do this one time a year and that they try to find other ways to educate themselves and their parishioners about mental illness," she said.
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The litany and other resources for the All-Lutheran Candlelighting for Mental Illness are available at http://www.elca.org/dcs/epr/disability/candlelighting.html on the ELCA Web site.
For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or news@elca.org
http://www.elca.org/news
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About the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America:
The ELCA is one of the largest Christian denominations in the United States, with 2.8 million members in more than 8,500 worshiping communities across the 50 states and in the Caribbean region. Known as the church of "God's work. Our hands.," the ELCA emphasizes the saving grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ, unity among Christians and service in the world. The ELCA's roots are in the writings of the German church reformer Martin Luther.
For information contact:
Candice Hill Buchbinder
Public Relations Manager
Candice.HillBuchbinder@ELCA.org
