Mental Health Sunday

May 12

It’s Mental Health Awareness Month!

Have you ever thought about hosting a Mental Health Sunday? Our friends at Hope Made Strong, encourage it. And they have created a whole pile of resources to help you pull it all together. And they offer it FREE (or you could make a donation to support their ministry!) Of course, we are most excited about the “You Are Not Alone” Mental Health Sunday! Check it out and the rest of the toolkit resources here.

If you haven’t listened to our podcast, we’ve had some amazing conversations about ministry and mental health this past year. Maybe these will inspire you and your leadership to get a conversation about mental health going in your ministry context.

Listen to our conversation with Laura Howe, Founder of Hope Made Strong as she champions the church’s role as a front-line resource for its members and community.
Learn more about the mission of Sanctuary Mental Health Ministries as we chat with Daniel Whitehead, their CEO.
Be inspired by ministry leaders who have hosted The Sanctuary Course in their congregations.

Ministry is hard. As you advocate for so many others, please take time and carve out space for your own mental health. Take advantage of the likely good counsel you share with others and find ways of supporting yourself in your ministry. You don’t have to do this alone.

If you are not sure where to start, the Canadian Mental Health Association is a good place to begin.

If you’ve been around the Ministry Forum community for any length of time you know that we value mental health conversations and resources for leaders and congregations. Here are a few articles we’ve shared over the past months and years highlighting this topic.

Featured

Burn Out & Finding Mental Health Support In Ministry for 2026

This week, we’re naming the heaviness of what it means to serve in a care-based vocation. We hold stories of grief and celebration, navigate complex dynamics, and try to remain faithful in contexts that are often under-resourced and deeply in flux. And it’s hard work.

Our Ministry Forum team is working on something to help in this area — the Listening Support Network - which you can read more about in our companion post. This is an area of ministy we are deeply passionate about and one we’ve talked about before. Below is a post we shared a while back and for this week’s theme of “finding support” we decided to revisit with a few updated resources you can dig into today.

We hope something here will help you tend your own soul, support those around you, and maybe even discern new ways to give back.

Who Cares for the Caregivers?

The loneliness epidemic isn't going away, and AI companions aren't the solution. But we have something irreplaceable to offer: the ministry of genuine human presence in the name of Jesus.

In an age of artificial everything, authentic ministry matters more than ever. Yours, Ministry Leader, is the work of connection.

Paying Attention to the Quiet: Mindfulness and Ministry

In our fast-paced world, ministry leaders often find themselves swept up in the “adrenaline of busyness.” Consider how mindfulness practices—like meditation apps (Headspace, Calm, Lectio 365) and prayer—can help us notice and tend to our inner life. Sometimes the most faithful thing we can do is simply stop, breathe, and listen to what our souls are trying to say.

What I learned at the Ministry Mental Health Summit

Heather Robinson, a recent MTS graduate, shares her reflections from attending the Ministry Mental Health Summit, sponsored in part by Ministry Forum. Drawing on Dr. Hillary McBride’s keynote on embodiment and sustainable care in ministry, Heather unpacks how spiritual trauma—what McBride calls "Holy Hurt"—can be addressed through a holistic understanding of the body and healing. Her insights are a heartfelt reminder that ministry leaders are not alone in their journey toward mental and spiritual restoration.

The Sanctuary Course: Bring Mental Health Ministry to Your Congregation

With endorsements from Ministry Forum members and a flexible, accessible design, The Sanctuary Course offers churches a meaningful way to support mental wellness through small groups, staff discussions, or formation programs.

Ministry and Mental Health: Preaching, Presence, and People

Mental health is certainly not a new topic of interest here at Ministry Forum.

We often advocate for the mental well-being of ministry leaders—encouraging rhythms of rest, retreat, and inter-mission. We've shared resources on burnout, hosted conversations about clergy wellness, and supported events that remind us: you can't pour from an empty cup.

But there’s a deeper layer to this conversation that we want to explore more intentionally:
How does mental health shape your preaching?
Your pastoral care?
Your leadership?
Are you engaging these realities from the pulpit and in your ministry practices?

A Digital Detox for Advent: Rediscovering Presence in a Screen-Saturated World

As ministry leaders, we often find ourselves at the center of a paradox. We strive to create spaces of connection and reflection, yet we too are vulnerable to the relentless pull of screens and notifications. Our congregations and youth—perhaps even we ourselves—may be longing for a reprieve from the constant hum of digital distraction. What better time to embrace a digital detox than during the season of Advent, a season that calls us to quiet expectation, intentional preparation, and deep reflection?

Advent, the season of waiting for the Light of Christ, invites us to slow down, to make space for what truly matters. It is an ideal time to step away from the noise of the digital world and foster meaningful connections with God, one another, and ourselves.

Retreating with Rev. Dr. Kristine O’Brien

This week on the podcast Rev. John Borthwick chats with Rev. Dr. Kristine O'Brien, the Executive Director of Crieff Hills Retreat Centre. Kristine reflects on her shift from congregational ministry to leading Crieff Hills, stressing how vital Sabbath rest and breaks (or "intermissions") are for avoiding burnout and sparking creativity in ministry. She talks about how taking intentional time for rest can refresh ministry leaders, helping them serve more effectively. Kristine also shares how Crieff Hills has evolved, now welcoming a variety of groups—from nonprofits to different faith traditions. The centre focuses on hospitality, spiritual renewal, and even innovative projects like ecological farming. This discussion highlights the importance of rest, creativity, and adaptability for healthy and thriving ministry.

Church Mental Health Summit

Your church has the unique opportunity to be a place of purpose, belonging, and hope for your community.

You can reach the lost, the broken, the hurting. And you can be the best expression of Jesus to them. But how do you reach a lost world in need without understanding who they are?

Join the Church Mental Health Summit to better understand the needs in your community. What if free access to this summit made all the difference in reaching the lost?

Flourishing In Ministry

One of my favourite books, that I’ve mentioned before, is Flourishing in Ministry by Matt Bloom. I think everyone who serves as a minister should read it - and I think it should be required reading for congregational leaders too. I think many of the concepts also translate to other areas of ministry leadership.

The Reality of Clergy Burnout in 2024

Inspired by the webinar “Preventing Burnout and Promoting Flourishing Among Clergy” from Common Table Conversations, let’s have a conversation about Burnout as we approach the fall—a time when work new expectations, meetings, and initiatives begin to pile up, and your next season of rest seems to be a million miles away.

Burn Out and Finding Mental Health Support In Ministry

Some guidance on selecting mental health services that align with individual needs, cultural, and faith backgrounds including resources for therapy and highlighting the importance of tailored approaches.

Ministry Mental Health Summit ‘24

May is Mental Health Month and we are delighted to be one of the many sponsors of Ministry Mental Health Summit Canada coming up on May 22 - 23. The summit looks amazing and comprehensive covering topics of how to reach out and support those struggling with mental health issues through your ministry context and tending to your own mental wellbeing as a ministry leader.

Psychologists, psychotherapists and counsellors for Ministry Leaders.

In this post we’re offering you some searchable sites to find a practitioner that might be a helpful companion for you as you serve in ministry. I’ve always said that sometimes we need to pay someone to focus on listening to us when we spend so much of our time and energy listening to everyone else. It is an invaluable investment in ourselves.

Dear Ministry Leader: YOU Matter Too.

One finding that fascinated me - and connects with how we may be feeling at the moment - was this: almost 100% of pastors acknowledge that it is somewhat true that their mental health is important while half use none of the identified services for personal, spiritual, or mental health support (like counsellors, spiritual directors, coaches, psychotherapists, etc)…

Spiritual Care in Long Term Care - Resources

Resources for spiritual care providers and chaplains serving in LTC across Canada.

Lament: We Need to Listen

Being a leader in the Church today is hard. Join John and a Special Guest Host as they open up the room to listen and learn from one another. Ministry Forum is delighted to host an online space that will strive to be safe as modelled and facilitated by its hosts where ministry leaders will gather with almost no agenda and where everything is on the table and tangents are welcomed. Join us for "We Need To Listen" where participants will find: - support and encouragement - accountability and celebration - ideas and strategies and most of all, a community of people passionate about sharing the Good News of Jesus with the world but sometimes feel alone doing it.

What is Inter-mission?

A passionate proponent of regular sabbaticals, our Director, John shares his experience around the benefits of taking intentional breaks as a way of sustaining one for the life of ministry. If you’ve never heard of Inter-mission, then this webinar is definitely for you. The session will not be recorded since we want to ensure the safety and confidentiality of our attendees.

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Mental Health Sunday

If you’ve been around the Ministry Forum community for any length of time you know that we value mental health conversations and resources for leaders and congregations. Here are a few articles we’ve shared over the past months and years highlighting this topic.

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You are Not Alone

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