{"id":1552,"date":"2015-01-30T11:43:39","date_gmt":"2015-01-30T16:43:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.pts.edu\/blog\/?p=1552"},"modified":"2021-03-09T10:02:11","modified_gmt":"2021-03-09T15:02:11","slug":"suicide-christian-church","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pts.edu\/blog\/suicide-christian-church\/","title":{"rendered":"The “S” Word Christians Fear"},"content":{"rendered":"

UPDATE: A webinar version as well as slideshow from this event are now available at www.pts.edu\/Webinars<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The \u201cs\u201d word can mean different things depending on your context. To my five-year-old, the \u201cs\u201d word is \u201cstupid.\u201d For you it is probably not stupid, but my guess is that it is not the word I am thinking of. It is a word that we fear to utter in our churches and our homes. It is a word you have probably never said as a pastor or have never heard your pastor say from the pulpit. A word that destroys families; breaks parents\u2019 hearts, and causes such deep confusion in children that they are never able to live outside of its shadow. Not only do we never say it, we never, ever want to hear it. Do you know what the word is yet? The \u201cs\u201d word that sends all other \u201cs\u201d words running out of the room?<\/p>\n

It\u2019s\u2026suicide. Yes, you read correctly, suicide.<\/p>\n

Suicide is the \u201cs\u201d word that leaves us nervous and trembling because even though most of us have dealt with suicide in our own families and homes, we don\u2019t talk about it. One in 6 teenagers and 1 in 17 adults has considered suicide. That means in our families, homes, and churches someone is thinking about suicide. If most of us in our lifetime will consider it, why don\u2019t we talk about it? Why don\u2019t we hear about it?<\/p>\n

Fear. Fear of death, fear of saying the wrong thing, fear of being found out, fear. 1 John 4:18 speaks to this fear, \u201cThere is no fear<\/strong> in love. But perfect love drives out fear<\/strong>, because fear<\/strong> has to do with punishment. The one who fear<\/strong>s is not made perfect in love.\u201d In the Christian community, this fear of punishment, fear of hell and damnation, that is the fear that has kept of us quiet. That fear and shame has made just the word, suicide, the \u201cs\u201d word.<\/p>\n

Friends, it is time for those of us who believe the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ to learn how to talk about the \u201cs\u201d word\u2014the \u201cs\u201d word that haunts us and causes us such great fear. There is no fear in love. So let\u2019s begin talking about how SUICIDE and SUICIDAL THOUGHTS affect us, our families, and our communities. Join the Miller Summer Youth Institute Feb. 12 from 4:00-5:00 p.m. at PTS (McNaugher Lounge, McNaugher Hall) as we begin a conversation that affects all of us. If you cannot join us physically, find our webinar after Feb. 12 at www.pts.edu\/syi<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Rev. Erin Davenport is a 2005 alumna of the MDiv program. Through the Seminary\u2019s joint degree program, she also earned her MSW from the University of Pittsburgh. A former chaplain, she now resides in Pittsburgh and serves as the Seminary\u2019s Director of the Miller Summer Youth Institute.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

UPDATE: A webinar version as well as slideshow from this event are now available at www.pts.edu\/Webinars. The \u201cs\u201d word can mean different things depending on your context. To my five-year-old, the \u201cs\u201d word is \u201cstupid.\u201d For you it is probably not stupid, but my guess is that it is not the word I am thinking…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1553,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[4,6,7],"tags":[75,76,73,74],"series":[],"class_list":["post-1552","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ministry","category-social-work","category-theological-reflection","tag-church-reponse-to-suicide","tag-fear-and-suicide","tag-suicide","tag-teen-suicide"],"yoast_head":"\r\nThe "S" Word Christians Fear - 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