Chapel Library

We are learning more and more about the connections between the mind and body. Our faith can help us live well in our relationships and personal experience, just as a positive vision of mental health can deepen our faith. Whether we turn to belief in moments of crisis or seek tools to sustain a healthy outlook in our day to day lives, the relationship between our faith and our mental health matters.

Feb 18 – Improving Communication with Marcus and Robin Earle
Relationships grow and thrive when improving communication is embraced by each partner. Equally important is transparency, honesty, vulnerability and the willingness to repair when breaks in trust and intimacy are experienced. Join us for a glimpse into the potential all relationships have as individually and relationally we seek growth, emotional wholeness and intimacy with one another.

Feb 25 – Improving Couple-ship with Ralph Earle
Couples grow individually and together and must understand and identify behaviors affecting a healthy partnership.  With over 50 years of couple’s therapy, Rev. Dr. Ralph Earle will discuss common issues including breaking ruts and he will share useable tools to improve relationships. 

Mar 4 – How to Handle Trauma with Marilyn Murray
No one has lived a perfect life – every person is an original creation who has experienced physical and/or emotional pain of some type - if this difficult event is not processed appropriately it develops into an “infected pool of pain” which affects many present-day actions and reactions.  Everyone also has an innate defense mechanism which attempts to manage this pain – thus, how these three components (who we are designed to be; our pool of pain; and our defense mechanism) interact determines  nearly everything we do in life.  This presentation outlines basic steps towards effective integration with a goal of becoming a Healthy Balanced Person.

Mar 11 – Mental Health and God with Shelly Reed
This presentation will break the silence about mental health concerns in the church.  Dr. Reed will share the clinical and spiritual approaches to mental health.  Participants will receive tools and resources to help with their own struggles and become better equipped to walk alongside others who are suffering. 

Mar 18 – Cultivating Tolerance and Compassion in a Polarized World with Ken Wells
Cultivating tolerance and compassion in a polarized world suggests an understanding of the meaning of tolerance and how it relates to and yet is different from compassion.  Acceptance of human brokenness connected to community accountability fosters healthy compassion toward self and tolerance toward others. This presentation will underscore key awareness about personal responsibility toward self-compassion and tolerance toward others with promise to melt polarization in the world we live.

Mar 25 – A Beautiful Brain:  How Brain Function Impacts our Way of Being with Terrina Picarello
The brain is the organ of learning, loving and behaving. Based on the information learned from more than 135,000 SPECT scans over 26 years, information will be presented about the different brain systems, what they do, what happens when things go wrong, and how targeted psychotherapeutic interventions can improve not only brain function but quality of life for individuals and families.