On Sunday, September 15, we held our first speaker event in our Holding Hope Series. Beth Purdy spoke to an audience of 144 which included some people outside of FPC as well as high school students from FPC. The gold star for the best attendance from a single church school class goes to the Rick Brand class! Thanks to all who attended this inspiring event. Those of you who were unable to attend, please take a moment to watch the video so you can also experience Beth’s meaningful story.
As a testament to how important this event was, not just for our church but our community at large, I think it bears mentioning that one of the first attendees I met that morning was a gentleman who came from out of town. He had corresponded with Beth through her website in the past and knew about her upcoming presentation. He wanted to meet Beth and her husband personally. He shared with me and the Purdys that his wife is in her own struggle and he wanted to know how to help her. How wonderful that we could give them an opportunity to meet directly!
As a result of the interest people showed in reading more about bipolar illness as well as other mental health issues, Edna Hensey and Kay Yarborough are working on creating a section of our church library that is dedicated to such topics. Please see them for more information.
On Sunday, November 17, we will welcome our 2nd speaker, Suzanne Brown, LCSW, a therapist from Chapel Hill. She will be speaking with us about the impact of mental illness and substance use disorders on the family and the importance of supporting families dealing with these crises. We hope to have an even larger audience on this date, so please join us and bring a friend!
Looking a little further down the road, we are working on securing speakers to address issues many of you mentioned in the survey: anxiety, relationships, parenting and chronic pain. Stay tuned for details. Let’s keep this important work going for our church and our community and continue to spread Jesus’s love to all those who are hurting.
Thank you!
Amy Propst
Co-Moderator, Congregational Care and Support Committee