The Gove and Barbara Elder Community Servant Award
From 2014-2019, The Barbara and Gove Elder Community Servant Award was announced at FCMI's Annual Conference to honor a local individual, team or organization whose exemplary service has significantly advanced the ability of people affected by mental illness to lead fulfilling, productive lives in our community.
About the Elders
For over a quarter of a century, Gove and Barbara Elder served missions in Thailand, raised a family, and pursued advanced degrees. Both hold D. Min’s and Gove, a PhD. Their ministry focused on marriage and family. Returning to Chapel Hill full-time in 1986, Barbara taught in Chapel Hill-Carrboro schools while Gove coordinated refugee resettlement efforts through Lutheran Family Services, connecting with multiple faith communities in the process. These contacts would later prove integral to the relationship-building that launched Faith Connections on Mental Illness (FCMI).
Through their volunteer efforts with NAMI, including service on the Orange County board and co-leading countless Family-to-Family education programs, Gove and Barbara encountered over-and-over again individuals and family members affected by mental illness who ached for more support from their faith communities. With mental illness shrouded in stigma, individuals and families yearned for acceptance, services, and programs – while faith communities puzzled over how to reach out. From the desire to help bridge this chasm, Faith Connections was born. Talks with like-minded folks in the Elders’ living room blossomed into full-fledged meetings of representatives from faith communities and non-profits.
One question would not go away: “What could they do?” Congregations started support groups and began offering educational programs. Partnering with Wake AHEC, from 2011-2021 FCMI produced an annual conference that attracted hundreds of attendees and featured local and nationally known experts. Other FCMI ongoing initiatives provide advocacy, support, and education to individuals, families, and congregations.
Gove and Barbara did not start – or build – Faith Connections on their own, and humbly accept that role as the face of the many “Faith Connectors on mental illness.” They eagerly await the day when the whispers, secrecy, and shame are a distant memory…a day when mental illness and physical illness are recognized in parity…equally worthy of compassion and support.
For over a quarter of a century, Gove and Barbara Elder served missions in Thailand, raised a family, and pursued advanced degrees. Both hold D. Min’s and Gove, a PhD. Their ministry focused on marriage and family. Returning to Chapel Hill full-time in 1986, Barbara taught in Chapel Hill-Carrboro schools while Gove coordinated refugee resettlement efforts through Lutheran Family Services, connecting with multiple faith communities in the process. These contacts would later prove integral to the relationship-building that launched Faith Connections on Mental Illness (FCMI).
Through their volunteer efforts with NAMI, including service on the Orange County board and co-leading countless Family-to-Family education programs, Gove and Barbara encountered over-and-over again individuals and family members affected by mental illness who ached for more support from their faith communities. With mental illness shrouded in stigma, individuals and families yearned for acceptance, services, and programs – while faith communities puzzled over how to reach out. From the desire to help bridge this chasm, Faith Connections was born. Talks with like-minded folks in the Elders’ living room blossomed into full-fledged meetings of representatives from faith communities and non-profits.
One question would not go away: “What could they do?” Congregations started support groups and began offering educational programs. Partnering with Wake AHEC, from 2011-2021 FCMI produced an annual conference that attracted hundreds of attendees and featured local and nationally known experts. Other FCMI ongoing initiatives provide advocacy, support, and education to individuals, families, and congregations.
Gove and Barbara did not start – or build – Faith Connections on their own, and humbly accept that role as the face of the many “Faith Connectors on mental illness.” They eagerly await the day when the whispers, secrecy, and shame are a distant memory…a day when mental illness and physical illness are recognized in parity…equally worthy of compassion and support.
Barbara and Gove Elder at the 1st FCMI Annual Conference - April 1, 2011
