Dr. John John

A local psychiatrist will present a program Sunday at First Lutheran Church addressing biases related to mental illness.

Dr. John John, a board-certified psychiatrist with Deerfield Behavioral Health, will present the program starting at 6 p.m. It marks the third presentation the church has sponsored in a diversity and inclusion education series.

“Dr. John will be using his experience from over 30 years in practice to discuss the stigma directed towards people with mental illness, often leading to delay in treatment due to fears of misjudgment,” a statement from the church explains.

“Understanding unconscious biases can help address discrimination and encourage seeking help. Acceptance is a continuous process to understand, reconcile, and welcome all communities regardless of race, ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation, physical or mental abilities, or social and economic status.”

“As part of First Lutheran’s journey into becoming a Reconciling in Christ congregation — simply meaning that we are intentionally educating ourselves on how to welcome all people into our lives — we realized there are more segments of the population than just the LGBTQ+ community we exclude, consciously or unconsciously, through our thoughts, words and actions,” Rev. Jeff Ewing, pastor at First Lutheran Church told the Times Observer when the series was announced.

Last summer, First Lutheran was recognized as a “Reconciling in Christ” congregation, a year-long process that included the congregation exploring what it means to be inclusive and welcome to all.

“There have been times in church history and our community’s history where we have not been kind to ‘those people’ — whoever ‘those people’ are,” Ewing said. “Once we realize that we are all part of the human family in all of our diversity and uniqueness, then perhaps we can treat one another in love instead of being afraid of our differences. The goal is to move toward that greatest commandment of loving God and loving others fully.”