A groundbreaking movement is unfolding across Northeast Ohio that dares to name what has long been ignored. In an unprecedented act of faith and advocacy, more than 20 black faith leaders are coming together during Mental Health Awareness Month to address the mental health crisis in the black community from the pulpit through sermons, Bible studies, and public witness.
This historic initiative is spearheaded by Mentally Mangled, a faith-based health and wellness ministry founded by Pastor Kyle Earley, senior pastor of City of God Cleveland. The ministry has launched a full-scale campaign to shift the narrative around mental illness in Black Cleveland, starting with black churches, reclaiming mental wellness as both a spiritual birthright and a sacred responsibility. Neither Earley nor his work are new to Cleveland. Earley has long been a civic and religious leader and Mentally Mangled is an annual endeavor. In his words “it’s not a moment, it’s a movement.”
The numbers prove why this movement is necessary. African Americans are 20% more likely to experience serious mental health challenges than the general population, yet only 31% receive the treatment they need. In Cleveland, the disparity is even more severe. Nearly 60% of black females report prolonged periods of sadness and hopelessness, while suicide rates among black youth continue to climb at an alarming rate. According to Earley, “These are not just statistics, they are signals of suffering in our neighborhoods, pews, and families.”
This movement is auspicious because the black church has historically been the preeminent bastion of black resilience, a place where trauma was prayed through, sung over, and survived. However, when it came to the matter of mental health, silence has often been the rule. Too many have been told to “pray it away,” equating depression with doubt or anxiety with weak faith.
This theology of denial has left many to suffer in the shadows. “Our silence has been violence”, notes Dr. Sheena Cameron, a co-host and participant in Mentally Mangled.
But — no more!
What makes this movement especially promising is its fusion of faith and science, hope and healing. This month, congregations throughout Northeast Ohio are lifting mental health from the margins to the center of spiritual life. Churches are offering workshops, hosting mental health professionals, and equipping faith leaders with tools to break the stigma and foster support.
Central to this campaign is the Mentally Mangled Resource Book, a free downloadable sermon/ Bible study guide for any faith leader ready to join the crusade for wellness. Contributors include Pastor Kyle Earley, Pastor Jeremy Wanton of Union Grove Baptist Church), Pastor Napoleon J. Harris V of Antioch Baptist Church, and Rev. Dr. Sheena Cameron (a licensed counselor and gospel preacher). Together, they provide a theological, clinical, and pastoral framework for healing the mind without abandoning the soul.
The campaign will culminate with the annual Mentally Mangled Revival, where this year’s revivalist, the dynamic preaching phenom Rev. Dr. Gina Stewart, will deliver a prophetic word that bridges the sacred and the psychological. Her presence affirms what we all must come to believe: mental wellness is not a justice issue and a gospel issue.
The Apostle Paul reminds us in 2 Timothy 1:7 that “God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, of love, and of a sound mind.” That sound mind is a divine gift. And in Cleveland, we’re embracing it.
This movement will be transformative. It is our declaration that black minds and all black life matters to God and the Church. It is our affirmation that Jesus heals broken hearts and anxious minds. And it is our prayer that beginning from Cleveland and stretching to the far corners of this country, the Black Church will rise as a sanctuary not just for salvation, but for psychological healing.
You can access the free resource book and join the movement here:
Let the healing begin and let the church say Amen.
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Rev. Dr. Napoleon Harris V is senior pastor of Antioch Baptist Church in Cleveland, co-host of Politics to the People, and proud participant in Mentally Mangled.