In 2023, we spent six weeks looking at Jesus’ parable of the Good Samaritan—a Samaritan man traveling along the road from Jerusalem to Jericho and finds someone lying on the side of the road—robbed, beaten, and left for dead. Instead of continuing on his way (like the priest and religious man before him), the Samaritan gets off his donkey, cleans up the battered man’s wounds, and takes him to an inn where he can recover.

The Samaritan didn’t have to do any of this. But he does because that’s what our faith calls us to do—to get off our donkey and care for others, particularly those in need.

We’ve brought back this “Get Off Your Donkey” series as a way to remind ourselves that sometimes, faith-in-action looks like meeting immediate needs, and other times, it looks like advocating for others and doing the internal work of rethinking assumptions and preconceived notions.

This time around, we’re exploring our United Methodist social principles. These principles aren’t church law, but they represent the prayerful efforts of the United Methodist Church to speak to contemporary context.

They call each of us to engage with the world around us, and to live like Jesus—compassionately working for justice for each and every one of God’s creations.

This week, we are taking a look at how our faith calls us to honor our mental health.