View Full Version : can you get support from the church
Can you goto your local church and speek to the local vicor for advice,
venusbluejeans
28-09-14, 21:58
I guess it depends what sort of advice you want....I think that they are more there to listen to your worries etc... but I am not religious at all so not 100% sure
Greg a vicar is only going to help with spiritual guidance, they are not a therapist, so unless you are looking for spiritual guidance then you would be wasting your time with them, but if you are looking for spiritual advice then they are the man/woman for you :)
They will help you the very best they can, but it takes some commonsense to know if it will be the best help you can get. In the end though that it is - they will do what they can with what they know, even if that's not much. Ask yourself if that's worth your time or will they tell you what you already know.
oh i see.well im not a spiritual person.wish i was tho.would be nice to have some kind of faith..oh well back to the drawing board
A vicar would almost certainly offer an impartial ear, for you to offload your thoughts to, but as others have said wouldn't be qualified to offer guidance other than of the spiritual kind. Your GP would be better placed to refer you to a counsellor etc, or in the mean time MIND & the Samaritans both have helplines with trained volunteers who can listen & offer support for mental health matters. I've contacted both before. They're not just for people considering ending their life.
I've received good support from the church Greg. They can have a good network of people. I've been getting advise from a retired mental health officer and the church minister.
I was talking to someone the other week. I did not know this person or her name.
I said Hello to her and we began to talk.
She told me her mum had died, and from that she told me her husband had died too.
I said I was sorry about what she had being going through and asked how she had coped. The Church. she said. She was a Church goer.Made lots friends there and if it wasn't for them would not have coped as well.
Regards to you Greg xx
It depends on the church. I have a family member who is a minister and they provide 3-4 counseling appointments. If it is more serious and needs to go beyond that, they refer you out.
cool advice.ill have to think about going to chrch then.im non religious tho so dont know how that will work
What is the point of going to church if you are not religious? If it is just for a listening ear then you would be better to phone the Samaritans. The church pastor would be more concerned/qualified about your spiritual health than your mental health.
i was thinking maybe if i goto church i migjt feel the urge to become a beliver and a regular church goer..sometimes in life you need to put yourself in a situation to find out if its for you.....might suprise myself
Nothing wrong with being curious about spirituality and seeing what might fit with you. You're right - won't know until you try.
MyNameIsTerry
10-02-15, 08:52
I've never actually seen a church open unless there was a service planned, a wedding or funeral or...weigh****chers! Its not like in the American films where they have enourmous churches open all day & night around here!
I guess you could Greg, but perhaps to discuss whether you want to become religious. Whether they actually speak to you or just ask to you to attend a service, I don't know.
I did see a local church that was running therapy for anxiety & depression recently. Reading the content, it was mostly religion based. A bit strange considering the point of being non judgemental! It was open to all but it was obvious it was about converted people to the church in question!
thanks for that terry.i agree with you about the churches being different in this country..the churches iv seen on the tv,all have there doors open all day long and people just walk in and chat to the pasture ...but as tou say its not like it nowadays..there shut..so ill have to look into doing some research first.
I think looking for help and support groups at the church is a good idea,most churches have a church hall and run all kinds of events .Even if its just a coffee morning its worth going along to ,just to get you out the house and meet new people
MyNameIsTerry
10-02-15, 11:25
Yeah, I agree with MrAndy. I'm wary of any church that has an agenda to pull in more people but I've only see this once and all the others have things like coffee groups and they are just for the community in general. All the posters I've seen for one that was a Catholic and one a Methodist, we open to all and had nothing on them about neednig to join at the church at any point so I recommended them to a lady I met at the charity walk-ins because she couldn't get far and needed social contact to avoid being in all day waiting for her hsuband to come home.
The charity I used to go to also ran events including coffee groups and it was a really cheap affair too.
Who knows Greg, you might get some nice teas there too mate!
It must be great if its like that in the US. Just walk in, sit down and a friendly vicar or priest pops over concerned about you and you have a good chat. I can imagine over here the first question would be your denomination followed by "theres the door" if you weren't the same faith! :winks::D
When I see them like that in films I have thought how nice it must be to just walk in and spend some time there. I've had those thoughts myself when I've felt really lonely but at least I'm in a city so there is a bit more about.
thanks guys.i will def look into that..who knows i might turn into religion .im open minded about it all.but the coffie mornings sound good and could help me to meet people.i do know one thing,in religion they allways look after there own and club together to greet others coming into the practice.so would be welcomed with open arms if i liked the thought of religion..
thanks guys.i will def look into that..who knows i might turn into religion .im open minded about it all.but the coffie mornings sound good and could help me to meet people.i do know one thing,in religion they allways look after there own and club together to greet others coming into the practice.so would be welcomed with open arms if i liked the thought of religion..go for it greg and let us know how you get on
thanks andy.watch this space
Honestly it depends on the church here. I grew up congregationalist and the minister had office hours most days. I'm sure they preferred if you called and made an appointment, but would talk to people. The community aspect of a church can be great, as others have said too.
Hi,
I have just started attending church. I'm not a 'believer' as such but I have faith that there is something bigger than what I can know about. The church was really welcoming and lots of nice people introduced themselves and came to chat. After the service there was the chance to chat and have a coffee and also to speak to someone and have them pray with you. There is a pastoral team who you can approach with any problems you have, including anxiety, and they will try and support you. In all, I think that the church is a great way to get out there, meet people, get support and perhaps find a connection to a more spiritual life. One important thing, I think, is to not give up on church just because there some parts of the bible you don't understand or agree with.... almost all people that attend church are faced with this. As someone once said, 'just put the bits that don't make sense to the side and enjoy the bits that do'.
So, In all I would recommend giving the church a try, even if only for the singing (which is great for anxiety). Also, I attended a Baptist Church... others may be different.
thanks swggirl,connie.great advice.im.going to look into it.not sure where my local chuurch is,but there is i think a church round the corner from me that practises in what looks like a comunity center.im sure its a church.im going to pop in there sometime to enquire
MyNameIsTerry
11-02-15, 10:19
There is always the spiritual churches if not Greg. They have things like healing and various groups to help people. There is one near me and they have something on most nights. So, if religion is quite what you want after you go, see if there is one of those near you.
I think a big issue is always going to be the people. I've heard people complain about some Christian churches but others say the complete opposite.
You might find a church has some projects on the go that you can join in with which would be great to get you out more.
Connie - I used to be in church just for the singing, hah! My mom ran the choir and I loved to sing, so I went to church for that lol I also met a lot of nice people and we did a lot of community events.
well im going to see if there is a church near me.if only going for the singing thats good for me.im looking to atach myself to something in life so maybe the church is something that will work for me
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