ABSTRACT
Understandings of mental health have changed drastically over time from superstitious beliefs, to a medical or biological understanding, to a more social understanding that sees the many environmental and relational aspects of mental health. There are one or two churches that are thriving in our community and attracting newcomers, often Christian asylum seekers and refugees, into their congregations. Through Thomas's story the author learned that denial can be an important part of mental illness and there can be many coping mechanisms that can prevent us from seeking help. Thomas's story deserves a wider audience precisely because he is a very gifted, deeply theological man who is central to our little church community not in spite of his mental health problems but because they are part of who he is. If God shares fully in our humanity in the person of Christ then God too shares in the experience of mental illness.
