CACOC to host mental health awareness event

The College Avenue Church of Christ will host a mental health awareness event next weekend titled Mental Health and the Church.

The three-day event will cover topics like addiction’s health effects and coping mechanisms for depression from a Christian standpoint. Discipleship minister Gary Schloemer said the program is open to the public and that anyone can benefit from it.

Dr. Joe Brumfield, of Harding University in Searcy, will lead the program. Brumfield has graduate degrees in theology and counseling, as well as a doctorate in education in family relations and child development from Harding. He currently teaches in the Family Ministries department at Harding.

“I think anybody will get information that they can use,” Schloemer said. “He’s going to, obviously, be talking from a Christian slant, but he’s going to be talking about the things everybody deals with. … It’s around all over the place and it needs to be addressed.”

The program will begin at 6 p.m. March 29. The first part of the program will center around the ways different addictions can affect one’s mental health, Schloemer said.

“It’s kind of a broad variety. It’s more of a shotgun approach (a way to target as many people as possible),” Schloemer said, describing the wide range of topics that are to be addressed at next week’s event.

At 7 p.m., there will be a workshop on how mental health affects relationships. At 8 p.m., Brumfield will address pornography and emotional intimacy; at 8:30 p.m., he will address anger issues, which is noted on the event’s agenda as the top issue for Christian men.

On March 30, the program will pick back up at about 8 a.m., Schloemer said. The day will start with a breakfast meeting where Brumfield and CACOC staff will address the topic of helping someone dealing with a mental health issue without getting burnt out.

The rest of the day’s program will cover depression (9 a.m.), anxiety (10 a.m.) and grief (11 a.m.), Schloemer said.

March 31 will be the final day of the program and will address more ways Christians can cope with mental health difficulties, as well as how they can reach out to others dealing with mental health issues.

“We have some folks and we relate to folks that are struggling with mental health issues. There’s not a lot of help, not a lot of training out there – I mean, there is in the secular world, obviously, but there’s a lot of questions, and people are struggling with ‘how do I help my friend who has some sort of mental illness or mental struggle,’” Schloemer said.

There will be a workshop at 9 a.m. March 31, which will be combined with the adult Bible classes, where attendees will learn about tools for helping friends and family. At 10 a.m., Brumfield will deliver the Sunday sermon, which Schloemer said is titled “Winning against Satan’s attacks on your mind.”

The church will hold a potluck that day as well, followed by a wrap-up session that will review the topics discussed over the weekend and deliver a message about how Jesus can help those dealing with mental health issues.

Child care will be provided, though CACOC asks that those who plan to bring children call to notify them so they can have the appropriate staff levels each day. Schloemer said children will be able to stay in the church’s staffed nursery.

The program is designed to address the needs of those dealing with a mental health issue as well as those with loved ones dealing with mental health issues. Schloemer said those who attend don’t need to bring anything with them other than a notebook if they’d like to take notes.

“Everybody has somebody that they know that has struggled with mental issues. Quite often it just gets ignored or [they’re told to] ‘suck it up’ or whatever. And that’s not an option for somebody who has mental difficulties, there is no such thing as suck it up,” Schloemer said. “So how can I support you knowing that this may stay with you the rest of your life.”

For more information about the event, call CACOC at 870-862-1552 or visit cacoc.org/mentalhealth.

Caitlan Butler can be reached at 870-862-6611 or [email protected].

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