Welcoming, Inclusive, Supportive, and Engaged (WISE) Congregation for Mental Health Statement
Affirming our faith in a God who loves and is embodied among all persons, and affirming our tradition as a welcoming congregation, First Congregational Church of Berkeley is a Welcoming, Inclusive, Supportive, and Engaged (WISE) Congregation for Mental Health.
— We welcome people with mental health challenges and those who love them.
— We include those with mental health challenges in the life, work, and leadership of the congregation.
— We support people with mental health challenges and those who love them.
— We engage with other organizations at the intersection of mental health and spirituality.
We care about the whole person: body, heart, mind, and soul, and we claim the deep and constant movement of God’s Holy Spirit seeking to bring us fullness of life. All are beloved by God, and when one has a mental health challenge, one has a right to be known in one’s fullness. Likewise, those among us with mental health challenges have gifts to offer our faith community, and the community is called to receive them.
(passed by vote of the Congregation on February 3, 2019)