Two years ago, the BUV held forums at 3 different locations in order to find out what the most important issues our BUV LOTE (Language Other Than English) Churches were facing. These were held at Yarraville, Footscray and Croydon. 

The most common and urgent issue was concern about mental health – post-traumatic stress (as a result of spending many years in refugee camps), depression and substance abuse (as a result of being displaced from their homeland and living amongst other cultures and surroundings).

In order to provide adequate support for these communities, we decided to work on ways in which we can help people in those communities (initially, Burmese from Karen and Chin backgrounds) through a Mental Health Awareness Program.

This program would be a long-term project.  However, as a priority, we thought that a Basic Mental Health Training with access to information in the Burmese, Karen and Hakha Chin languages would be the ideal starting point for Pastors and Leaders of our BUV LOTE Churches. 

We spoke with some potential organisations with which we could partner with in the delivery of the Training.  After consideration, we decided to partner with Foundation House, a not-for-profit organisation.  The background and experience of their trainers was an ideal fit for the community that we wanted to provide the training – refugees who had to flee their countries as a result of persecution.

So far, we have organized 2 training days, held late 2016 in Sunshine and Croydon

Western Suburbs

The Mental Health Training session was led by Lew Hess with Burmese translation provided by Mu Mu.  There were fifty participants from eleven of our BUV Karen and Chin Churches.  Lew Hess used the well-known Parable of the Good Samaritan to introduce the topic of Mental Health.  He said that, “this story helps us reflect on the challenges involved in being a refugee and settling into a new land. This story is rich with learning for all of us in Melbourne 2016”. 

Lew then used three case studies in order to encourage the attendees to think about some mental health issues.  The first case had to do with depression and how the person and his family could cope with it. 

The second case study was about a clash of cultural values with the daughter asking her parents whether her boyfriend could sleep overnight at their home.  Her parents were so distressed by this question that they could not speak and left thinking, “How could she ask such a thing?” 

The third case study was aimed to help those who went through a similar situation within their own community.  It was about the hopelessness that many refugees faced as a result of family violence, sometimes leading to suicide. 

Through those cases, Lew Hess encouraged the participants to reflect on their own particular situations and experience.

Lew Hess also provided brief details about Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).  The session ended with a reflection of the importance of prayer but also of professional and community assistance. 

Eastern Suburbs

The Mental Health Training session was led by Radhika Santhanam-Martin and Jasmina Mulugeta with Burmese translation provided by Anna.  There were twenty five participants from eight of our BUV Karen and Chin Churches.

Radhika introduced the Mental Health topic by commenting on the fact that our understanding of what this is all about varies according to our cultural background. 

She started by mentioning that there are several areas of our lives when we are considering our Health:

• Physical
• Financial
• Social
• Spiritual
• Cultural
• Emotional
• Mental and
• Environmental.

All of these inter connected.  Looking at Mental Health, our understanding of what it is varies according to our cultural background.  Some communities consider mental illness to be like any other illness whereas other communities will not even talk about it.

Traditionally, three words are used to describe Mental Illness:

• MAD – these are normally admitted to hospitals
• BAD – these are normally having issues with the Law – police or legal system
• SAD – these will need help from counsellors, pastors or other Church people.

To determine whether a person has mental illness, five signs that need to be considered are:

1. SLEEP – has it changed?
2. EATING – added weight or lost weight, not eating?
3. ENERGY – More, Less or No energy?
4. MOOD – Irritable, Happy or Changeable?
5. INTEREST – Loss of interest in things previously liked?

Minor Mental Health Issues include:

• ANXIETY.
• DEPRESSION.
• STRESS.
• GRIEF and LOSS.

In cases of minor Mental Health issues, the person normally needs:

• A person he / she can trust to help go through it
• A safe place
• Medical help and also others for support – especially in cases of Family Violence, Substance Abuse, Gambling and Suicidal Thinking.

Major Mental Health issues – behaviours of the person have not changed but the person has developed new behaviours, like:

• Swearing a lot in public
• Talking to self all the time
• Laughing to self
• Hearing voices and acting on those voices
• Seeing things others do not see
• Interpreting the world in a way no one understand
• Fixed belief – just talking about it will not change beliefs, the person needs professional help. 

People with major mental health issues need medical help and should be hospitalised.

Further Mental Health Awareness Training Opportunities for LOTE churches will be offered during 2017. For more information contact Marc Chan, BUV’s Multicultural Consultant on marc.chan@buv.com.au

Meet Mark Purser, your Baptist World Aid Australia State Representative.

Mark is a man who’s passionate about his faith, his family and a good game of footy… And he’s a real answer to prayer too!

Mark joined the staff of Baptist World Aid in July this year, a happy end to a long search for the right candidate.

As the former Senior Pastor at Clovercrest Baptist Church in Adelaide, he brings with him a wealth of experience to this role.

Q: Tell us a little bit about your own faith journey.

A: I’ve been involved in church life for many, many years. My parents were always very active role models and real servants in the life of their church, Kilsyth South Baptist Church in Melbourne, which they still attend today.

I’ve always fed off their role modelling, but in terms of vocational ministry I was a bit of a late bloomer. I had a Business Degree, and I worked in my family business for quite a number of years after I graduated – I ended up becoming State Manager for them.

At the same time, though, I was leading the high school youth ministry at Heathmont Baptist Church. I had been doing that for 3 or 4 years when a part time paid position of youth pastor came up, which I was fortunate enough to get.

And that’s when I started going to the Bible College of Victoria, in 1997.

Q: Your last ministry position was as the Senior Pastor of Clovercrest Baptist Church in Adelaide. As a Victorian, how did you come to find yourself there?

A: After I finished up at Heathmont in 2003, I moved to NewHope Baptist Church in Blackburn North as their associate pastor. I was there for about 7 years.

I grew and developed under Alan Demond’s leadership – he was Senior Pastor there then (and still is now). I was given a lot of opportunities to have a wider scope of ministry in that church, which really prepared me for Senior Pastoring.

Before I arrived at Clovercrest in Adelaide, the church had been through a pretty rough patch and it had been without a pastor for a couple of years.

My wife and I always sensed that we had been sent to Clovercrest for a season. We were very clear in our minds that, in many ways, we were being sent to help the church rebuild. And it’s been wonderful to have been part of quite a fruitful season in the life of Clovercrest.

Q: How did you make the decision to move on from your role at Clovercrest?

A: In the middle of 2015, my wife and I had a real sense that our time at Clovercrest was up. We felt that we’d achieved the things we’d been sent to do. So, when we got to the end of 2015, we officially informed the Church Council.

Then we asked, “God, what next?” And we just left it open. We both had a heart to go back to Melbourne, to be with family, but we didn’t want to box ourselves in by searching for only for Senior Pastor role for instance. We had no preconceived notions of what I would go on to do.

Q: And how long were you in that space before you came across the role at Baptist World Aid?

A: When we notified the Church Council at Clovercrest that we would be leaving, I guaranteed them six more months. I had wanted to give plenty of notice, to allow time hand the baton over to the next Senior Pastor.

So, we told them that in December 2015, and it just so happens that Baptist World Aid approach came probably around late January. It came in that six-month window.

Some Baptist World Aid staff happened to be visiting South Australia and they mentioned that there was a job going, they were just meeting with me as a Pastor. But I guess it was probably a God moment where a seed was planted.

Q: Did you have any previous involvement with Baptist World Aid prior to this position?

A: In 2010 I was invited to go on an exposure trip to Nepal with Baptist World Aid. Before that, my involvement had been quite minimal… and the trip was my first real introduction into the organisation.

I was introduced to a number of the projects in Nepal, and it just really opened up my eyes to global poverty. As you would hear from most people, when you go and smell it, taste it, see it for yourself, you can’t help but be influenced and affected by it.

So, it had a huge impact for me personally, and I was just so impressed by the work of Baptist World Aid that I saw while I was there. How it wasn’t a band aid solution, how it was about sustainable living – particularly for struggling women and children – and just the way it was making a difference for whole communities. It really grabbed me.

It showed me: this actually works! You can change lives by being a blessing.

That was a bit of a revelation on that trip, I’d have to say.

I remember, I came back to Clovercrest and said, “OK Church, we need to be involved. Not just with this organisation, but also with global poverty.”

Q: How important is a personal response (and a wider church response) to global poverty?

A: As a pastor, I think it’s a biblical mandate. There are so many scriptures, both old and new testament that give themselves to blessing the poor and looking out to the needs of others. And the opportunity that Jesus gives us to be Jesus to others.

A gift that God’s given me is to speak up front, and I’m looking forward to having a variety of messages that I can take into different contexts around Victoria and speak into the life of the church. I just want to get people thinking about what the right and proper response to global poverty looks like. In their own lives… in the life of the church… what can we do?

So, the question would be for a church and for individuals: “What one thing could I, perhaps, change in my life so I can start to walk a little closer to the heart that Jesus has for the poor?”

Q: Finally, it would be remiss of me to fail to ask you about your chaplaincy role with the Adelaide Crows. How did that role fit in to your own convictions about church, faith and community?

Sport has always been a big part of my life. I played in the national hockey league for a number of years and district cricket as well (in the highest grade).

When I retired back in the early 2000s, I stepped into sport chaplaincy. I became an accredited Chaplain.

When we went to Clovercrest, I approached the Adelaide Crows – I knew a couple of the players from my Victorian underage days – and I became their inaugural Chaplain. They were the only AFL club, at the time, that had ever had a Chaplain.

And God’s timing in that has just been amazing, because in that time we’ve had some absolute tragedy at the club. And it’s been a real privilege to walk those journeys with the team.

As a pastor, I think it’s really important to actually live evangelism. My whole existence could be within the four walls of the church, there’s that much need, but it’s important that I get outside the church and sow into the local community. So, I can understand the community better. So, I can find conversations with people that don’t know Jesus… and challenge myself in all of that and be out of my comfort zone.

That’s what chaplaincy has done for me.

by Samara Linehan

The Corryong community has flourished with the development of a renovated community hub thanks to funds received from a Baptcare Community Grant.

In 2015 the Corryong Baptist church received a $15,000 grant to renovate their community kitchen and courtyard, which serves as a local hub for many surrounding communities. The grant was used to bring the space back to life allowing the church to use it as a much needed space to bring isolated families and children together in a safe and supportive environment.

A year on and the Corryong Baptist church kitchen is still going strong. Church secretary Bonita Nicholas said “the kitchen continues to serve as a great facility both for our church family as well as the community”.

The church activity list has also increased in the past year, with the space used to host many of the town’s events and groups. The church is now an important space in the community – a space that allows members of the community to come together and support each while participating in fun and casual activities.

Each week the church hosts a family event called ‘Mainly Music’ where 23 families and 43 children come together to sing, play and enjoy morning tea together. As part of the grant, the church also constructed a deck in their courtyard, a space that is used for mums to get together while watching their children play.

“The area is so much more usable and we enjoy using it.” Bonita said. Other activities held at the hub include craft activities for a girls group and regular men’s breakfasts for men of the broader Corryong community, that allow them to meet new people and learn new skills.

“We also host special events like Ping Pong-a-thon where the money raised is used to support agencies in South East Asia combating human trafficking,” Bonita added.

The Baptcare grant has assisted the Corryong Baptist church to bring the Corryong community together and is one example of the difference our grants have made.