The Church of the Palms is a certified W.I.S.E. Congregation!
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W.I.S.E. COVENANT
The Church of the Palms in January, 2020 began the process to be certified with the UCC MHN (United Church of Christ Mental Health Network) as a W.I.S.E. congregation (Welcoming, Inclusive, Supportive, and Engaging). A Steering Committee for W.I.S.E. was formed as part of the ministry of the CARE TEAM of The Church of the Palms. This Covenant expresses our desire to make a commitment to all people to extend WELCOME, INCLUSION, SUPPORT and ENGAGEMENT with ALL PERSONS traveling life’s journey with the goal of mental wellness. “We affirm that God loves all humankind and therefore each person has opportunity to serve in the full life and ministry of the Church.”
We seek to be a community that cares for the whole person: body, heart, mind, and soul.
We recognize that mental wellness is on a continuum and stressors, loss, and events in life can challenge us at any point. We are committed to journey with individuals with disabilities, those with mental wellness stressors or challenges, physical disease processes, and the changes brought about by the natural aging processes.
- We commit to create a WELCOMING environment for people with mental wellness issues, challenges, individuals with disabilities and to their families and support persons.
- We commit to INCLUDE people with mental wellness issues, challenges, or individuals with disabilities in their life, in the work and leadership of this congregation.
- We commit to SUPPORT people with mental wellness issues, challenges, individuals with disabilities and their families.
- We commit to ENGAGE with other organizations that work at the intersection of mental wellness issues, challenges, individuals with disabilities persons. This includes, but is not limited to: Not-for-profits, national/state organizations, faith/spiritual/religious organizations. We also commit to ENGAGE in continued education for our congregation on these topics.
The Church of the Palms commits to train individuals interested in The Mental Health First Aid, a course developed and accredited by the National Council for Behavioral Health and sanctioned through the United Church of Christ Mental Health Network and the Southwest Conference of the United Church of Christ. Individuals successfully completing this training will wear identifying badges when at church or on church sponsored excursions or events.