Faith Matters: Sharing & Caring Community Mental Health & Well-being Event held by Luton’s Gospel Pentecostal Ministries

Several people from diverse backgrounds benefited from a Sharing & Caring Community Mental Health & Well-being Event held by Luton’s Gospel Pentecostal (GP) Ministries. The event was sponsored by Luton Rising & BLCF (Bedfordshire and Luton Community Foundation). The event was held in collaboration with Total Wellbeing Luton – an initiative that supports improving people’s physical and emotional health.

In his address, the keynote speaker, Pastor Trevor Adams, said, "This event is timely as Covid-19 has terribly shaken many people's health conditions. He said that the 2-day event resonates with the LBC 2040 vision especially "improving the Wellbeing and tackle health Inequalities to enable everyone to have a good quality life and reach their full potential".

He related it to the UN/WHO definition of wellness with emphasis on the word holistic, which includes the spiritual being of the individuals. He referenced the Bible passage 3 John 2, which says, "prosper in all things and be in good health just as your soul prospers"

He said that it's God's will that all be in good health. Therefore, any policy that doesn't take individuals' faith into consideration when addressing wellbeing is inadequate as it's not holistic.

Explaining mind & body tools for wellness & wellbeing, several speakers acknowledged that there are many things that could affect health and wellbeing, such as unemployment, environment, family and social circumstances, news, weather, relationships, and money. Recognising that faith influences our daily life, it was pointed out that our beliefs about ourselves, about others, and about the world also influence our daily life. Beliefs may not be facts, but can influence and even create or alter our factual realities if we persevere with the goals of self-care and build our emotional agility. This means navigating emotional challenges without letting stress or negativity cloud our judgment.

Explaining how this event came about, Pas Lawrence Fagbayi described that to heal the wounds of the 2024 summer riots in the UK we organised community get together events in which, on public demand, we agreed to hold events in 2025 around the theme of ‘Sharing & Caring’ aimed at using the local volunteers to enable community engagement, and to encourage inter-generational activity, tackling anti-social behavior, and promoting inclusion of the elderly – preventing social isolation.