Schowalter Grant Will Fund Prairie View Pastor Consultation Project
April 10, 2020
Newton, Kan. (April 10, 2020) – A $3,000 grant from the Schowalter Foundation will help establish a six-week pilot program for area pastors to meet with a Prairie View clinician with specific expertise in a support group setting.
“Pastors are often ‘gate-keepers’ who field a variety of issues, including family conflict, mental illness, suicide, depression, sexual abuse, addictions and anxiety,” says Eric Schrag, director of advancement at Prairie View. “In all these issues, the relationship to faith, religious experience and denominational teaching create unique opportunities for pastors to respond to pleas for help.”
However, because pastors have not typically had professional training to respond to complex mental and behavioral issues, Prairie View often receives requests to provide information, resources and support.
The program will identify six topics for each two-hour-long consultation with a Prairie View clinician. Topic ideas will be provided by the Prairie View Chaplaincy Advisory Committee and pastors who currently attend Prairie View’s quarterly pastoral luncheons. The program will be open to pastors in the tri-county area which Prairie View serves as community mental health center: Harvey, Marion and McPherson.
The Schowalter Foundation is a supporting organization of Mennonite Foundation, an affiliate of Everence, which is the stewardship agency of Mennonite Church USA.
Prairie View, Inc., a faith-based behavioral health services provider, offers treatment and psychiatric services for all ages as well as consultations for businesses and organizations. In addition to our main campus in Newton with outpatient offices, psychiatric hospital, residential treatment for adolescents, and the Addictions Treatment Center, Prairie View serves clients in Hillsboro, McPherson and at two locations in Wichita. To support Prairie View’s mission to transform lives, call 800-992-6292 or visit prairieview.org.