About Living Room
Living Room is a name coined by Dr. John Toews, author of No Longer Alone: Mental Health and the Church (Herald Press, 1995). When his church saw the need to support people going through mental health crises, he formed a group that met in his living room at home. Thus, the simple name Living Room.
Today, the name does not refer to the place where meetings are held. Rather, it suggests a comfortable and inviting place to be with friends – a place to relax and be oneself. Today, Living Room is an outreach program sponsored by churches and taking place in churches.
Living Room is based on the self-help model. Ideally, it is facilitated by a person who also has a mood disorder. Partnership with a mental health organization such as the Mood Disorders Association of BC is strongly recommended.
At the time of writing, the original Living Room mood disorders group at Brentwood Park Alliance Church is thirteen months old. We held our first meeting in September 2006 with six participants. Today, we have around 35 members, with 12 – 20 attending each meeting. Our group is a lunchtime group, meeting twice a month, from noon to 2:00 p.m. Two other groups, at New Life Community Church in Burnaby and at Seven Oaks Alliance Church in Abbotsford, meet in the evening.
Living Room has proven its value to our community. It is our dream to see groups form in other communities. This is one way churches can fulfill Christ's call to love and help people in need.
Marja Bergen
Marja Bergen is the founder of Living Room and the facilitator of the group that meets at Brentwood Park Alliance Church in Burnaby. She is the author of Riding the Roller Coaster: Living with Mood Disorders and A Firm Place to Stand: Finding Meaning in a Life with Bipolar Disorder, both written from her perspective as someone living with bipolar disorder. A long-time mental health activist, she has written many articles about faith and mental health issues and is a contributor to www.canadianchristianity.com. Her blog, Roller Coaster, also deals with such issues. Marja is devoted to serving God by helping those who deal with mental health issues and those who want to support them.
Mood Disorders Association of British Columbia
British Columbia Living Rooms partner with the Mood Disorders Association of British Columbia, a nonprofit organization dedicated to the support and education for people with mood disorders and their family and friends. MDA's goals are to educate the community by providing information and sharing experiences about mood disorders, encourage the development of effective self-help models and, as a result, reduce the sense of shame experienced by people with mood disorders.
MDA trains our leaders, giving us the tools we need to be effective facilitators. They are always there to answer questions and give advice and guidance. They also make their membership aware of the spiritual option of support Living Room offers.
Brentwood Park Alliance Church
Living Room had its start as a ministry of Brentwood Park Alliance Church under the leadership of Marja Bergen. Awareness of the need for a ministry like this grew following a workshop attended by Pastor Don Dyck at the invitation of Marja Bergen on the church's response to those suffering from mental illness. Through the encouragement and support of Pastor Don and the leadership of Brentwood Park Alliance Church Marja has been able to sort through the many questions and problems that have come up in establishing this new ministry. Pastor Don continues to attend as many of the meetings as possible and many members of the congregation encourage Marja and pray for this ministry. Living Room is more than simply a group that meets in the basement of the church; Living Room is part of what makes the church what it is - an accepting community that wants to share the love of Christ.
A message from Pastor Don Dyck:
I believe the best place to live is at the intersection of heaven and earth, praying and working to establish the kingdom of heaven here on earth. I am convinced that Living Room is just that. It draws people together who are wrestling with the issues of this life but want to find their place in the community of faith. Sadly, those who deal with mental health issues have not always found the love and acceptance, the compassion and grace in the church that they so need to experience a measure of healing and wholeness. Living Room is part of the intentional effort our church is making to change that. Our vision for our church is to be "a church without walls," making every effort to remove the barriers that keep people from being part of a community of faith, as well as moving beyond the walls of our church to make a difference in our community. Our vision and our hope for Living Room is to see this ministry become contagious so that other churches start up similar groups.
On a more personal note, as I have sat in on group meetings with Living Room, I have learned much. I have at times been overwhelmed by the pain that is in the room represented by the lives of those in attendance. But, at the same time, I have been inspired by the resilience of those same people as they battled to overcome their issues and live as best they can in spite of their treatment by others. I am deeply indebted to them, and particularly to Marja, for opening up my understanding of what it means to be a person with a mental illness. My hope and prayer is that through Living Room we will see not only our church but also many other churches become places where people don't need to hide these issues but can be open about them because they know they will be loved and accepted. Is that not what Jesus wants for his church?