On this episode of Service in Practice, I had the blessing to interview Fr. Luke of the Coptic Orthodox Church of St Mary and St Mercurius in Belleville, NJ. Fr. Luke also practices at St. Luke’s Clinic, a psychiatric clinic that is part of the church. He also teaches as an adjunct professor at New Jersey Medical School.

Fr. Luke speaks about his practice and the importance of mental health to the life of the Church and to service. We begin with some of the barriers to mental health help, and how the Church can help break those down. He also talks about the 12-step recovery process for addiction, comparing it to several Orthodox practices - repentance, confession, and service, to name a few. 

One great starting place Fr. Luke recommends is the book God’s Path to Sanity, by Dee Pennock, with a biblical and patristic basis for mental illness: https://store.ancientfaith.com/gods-path-to-sanity/