![Regional Zoom Meeting with the Bishop Regional Zoom Meeting with the Bishop](https://dioceseofnewark.org/sites/default/files/styles/node_hero_image/public/images/RegionalMinistryNetworksMap2020-banner_16.jpg?itok=IjkF8Fdv)
The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on every aspect of our lives has yet to be fully realized. The impact on mental health has already begun to show itself.
In May and early June, Bishop Hughes hosted Zoom gatherings with all diocesan congregations, grouped into eight Regional Ministry Networks. For the Summer Regional Zoom meetings, the Bishop has asked Canon Margo Clark to engage an expert on mental health topics, depression in particular, so prevalent during this time of sustained trauma due to the pandemic.
About our featured guest
The upcoming Summer Regional Zoom meetings will feature Dr. Dan Hale, Special Advisor to the President of Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center, Baltimore, MD. Dr. Hale will take a personal and professional look at mental health topics, depression in particular, and offer insight for those who “…suffer from depression themselves, deal with it as health professionals or faith leaders, live with others who have it, or know others who do …” As a result, these gatherings will help us all “… (become) well informed, inspired to seek help, engage in self-care, remain hopeful, and reach out to those who have suffered in the shadows for so long from this crippling illness.”
Dr. Dan Hale is Special Advisor to the President of Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center and Director of the Healthy Community Partnership. He also is an Assistant Professor at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, with appointments in the Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences and the Division of Geriatric Medicine & Gerontology. Dr. Hale co-authored the book Building Healthy Communities through Medical-Religious Partnerships (2018) and he also co-authored Healing Bodies and Souls: A Practical Guide for Congregations (2003) with Dr. Harold Koenig, Director of the Center for Spirituality, Theology and Health at Duke University Medical Center. Dr. Hale's most recent publication is Depression – Out of the Darkness and Into the Light (Gatekeeper Press, 2020).
When and how to attend
The four Summer Zoom gatherings will begin at 6 PM on the dates listed, and include two adjacent Regional Ministry Networks, as follows:
- THU, JUL 23: Benedict of Nursia (North East) and Augustine of Hippo (East)
- THU, JUL 30: Dietrich Bonhoeffer (Central North) and Absalom Jones (South East)
- THU, AUG 20: Florence Li Tim-Oi (Central South) and Evelyn Underhill (South)
- THU, AUG 27: Constance and her Companions (North West) and Harriet Tubman (South West)
The information needed to log in to each Zoom gathering will be emailed to each church’s leaders, who will in turn email it to the congregation the day before the scheduled meeting. It is not necessary to register for these gatherings. ALL members are encouraged to attend by Region; if you are unable to attend the call for your Region, please email John King (jking@dioceseofnewark.org) for the Zoom info for the meeting you are able to attend.