Classes meet in Commons I on Sundays from 9:40 to 10:45am. They are free and are open to young people and adults.
May 5: The Creation Care Ministry will be offering a review of the Climate Change issue. The presentation will first cover the science and implications of climate change and then consider ways of responding.
May 12 & 19: Mental Health and Suicide Prevention
Classes will explore the implications for our life together behind some sobering statistics:
About 1 in 5 adults (18.5 percent) in the U.S. experiences a mental illness in a given year.
About 1 in 5 youth (21.4 percent) aged 13–18 experiences a severe mental disorder; for children aged 8–15, the estimate is 13 percent.
According to a 2017 youth assessment survey of 11th-grade students in Ottawa County, during the past 12 months:
20 percent seriously thought about attempting suicide.
15 percent made a plan to attempt suicide.
Nearly 10 percent attempted suicide more than one time.
On May 12, Terry DeYoung and Sam and Jean Martin will discuss the connections of mental illnesses and stigma to suicide, a faith perspective on life and suicide, and what happens when suicide hits home.
On May 19, Todd Kamstra and Jeff Elhart will review community supports for mental health and suicide prevention, the “be nice” initiative, and how churches and individuals can engage.
Terry DeYoung is a Hope Church member who serves as coordinator for disability concerns for the Reformed Church in America. Sam and Jean Martin are longtime Hope Church members whose son Chris died by suicide 19 years ago at the age of 15, following a relatively short but severe bout of depression. Hope Church member Todd Kamstra is a be nice advocate and leader at Zeeland Public Schools, working with young people and their families to implement mental illness awareness and suicide prevention education. Jeff Elhart serves as board chair of the Mental Health Foundation of West Michigan (creator of “be nice”); executive board member of the National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention (a public/private collaboration); founder and donor advisor of the Wayne Elhart be nice. Memorial Funds in Ottawa, Muskegon, and Oceana Counties; and general advocate and speaker on the topic.