During these extraordinary times, while we can’t be with each other physically, we can reach out through screens and over phones, and we can share our stories with each other. Join Sanctuary's CEO, Daniel Whitehead, as he interviews pastors, front line workers, ministry leaders, and friends about their experience of the pandemic and where they are making meaning and finding hope in the ups and downs of this season.

Alastair Sterne, founding and lead pastor of St. Peter’s Fireside and canon of church planting for the Anglican Network in Canada, shares openly about caring for his own mental health, making meaning, and finding joy amid the challenges of pastoring and parenting during COVID-19. He discusses the role of the Church in supporting mental health now and in the coming months and years.

In this short interview, Sanctuary Ambassador John Swinton explains how those of us who are struggling to find our value apart from our work can reframe our perspective of where value comes from and understand our value by knowing God.

See the video or read the transcript of this interview on our website: www.sanctuarymentalhealth.org

Sanctuary Ambassador Hillary McBride wrote and recorded a grounding meditation designed for those who may be experiencing heightened anxiety or fear at this time. This meditation is meant to help calm the mind and the body. She also provides some tips for supporting mental health while practicing social distancing, which can be found on our blog at sanctuarymentalhealth.org

The University of British Columbia’s President and Vice-Chancellor, Dr. Santa Ono, shares candidly about his own mental health journey and how faith and the love of Christians buoyed and carried him through dark times. He discusses his role at one of Canada’s top universities, and his efforts to raise awareness, shape policy, and allocate funding and resources to bring care within the reach of students who are wrestling with their own mental health challenges.

A Note of Caution: This episode of The Sanctuary Podcast deals with sensitive subjects such as overdose and suicide, so please use your discretion about whether listening feels safe for you at this time. If you’re unsure, consider listening with a trusted friend.

During this unprecedented season, we are continuing to release our regularly scheduled podcast episodes, even as we share resources specifically related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Through drawing our awareness to faith and mental health, the podcast offers a healthy reprieve from media that may be specifically pandemic-focused while providing an opportunity to learn about a topic that is supportive of our communities in these times.

Poet, priest, and professor Malcolm Guite discusses the intersection of faith, mental health, and literature. He shares his journey, some of his newest sonnets, and his insights into how to live a life of art and feeling amidst depression, one of the most common mental health issues.

Practical theologian Rev. Dr. John Swinton talks about faith, mental health, and all the ways in which our culture, particularly Church culture, can exclude those whose voices, whose songs, and whose lives don’t fit the "standard format." He offers up some new ways of seeing in which difference and disability are welcomed, embraced, and understood as a valid way of being fully human and fully alive to the possibilities of God.