From the Revd K. A. M. Price
Sir, - The Revd Eva McIntyre says that "themes of unworthiness
and sinfulness . . . are, for those living with a mental illness,
like tree roots in a dark forest" (Comment, 13 February).
I would like to offer an alternative perspective.
As somebody who struggled with depression and low self-esteem as
a young adult, it was precisely this language that resonated with
me and spoke to my inner experience. It helped me to reframe my
sense of worthlessness in terms of a thank-ful dependence on God,
and to exchange my isolation ("Everybody else is happy; everybody
else finds life easy") for the shared human experience of sin and
struggle.
When I did come to faith - in a church that used Prayer Book
language, surely more sin-laden than Common Worship - I
had indeed an overwhelming sense of God's forgiveness and
acceptance. Yet I could not have accepted any glib assurances of
God's love had my feelings of pain and guilt been suppressed rather
than recognised and acknowledged. "The remembrance of them is
grievous unto us; the burden of them is intolerable" - that raw
plea for mercy sounded like my voice, and occasionally it still
does.
The voices of those in pain are too often silenced. Please do
not silence them in church.
KATY MAGDALENE PRICE,
44 Waltham Road,
Grimsby DN33 2LX
