MINNEAPOLIS (AP) ā Right after Sunday worship at St. Paulās-San Pablo , Juan Carlos Toapanta lay in a lounge chair set up by the altar, needles sticking out of his forehead, wrist and foot for an hourlong acupuncture session.
āJust like the Lordās light helps emotionally, the bodyās pain is treated as well,ā said the Ecuadorian construction worker, who suffers from sciatica and has worshipped at the Minneapolis church for about five months. āEverything feels freed, emotionally.ā
Founded by Swedish immigrants in the late 19th century, the church is now a predominantly Latino congregation. Like most other churches in the U.S. that serve migrants, it has expanded its humanitarian, financial, legal and pastoral ministries during the Trump administrationās .
It has also added monthly well-being sessions ā at no charge ā with acupuncture, Reiki and cupping therapy to ease the stress that uncertainty and fear have sown among the migrant community ā including people in the U.S. illegally and U.S.-born citizens in mixed-status families.
āWe have to feel well to respond well, not with panic and fear, which leads to nothing good,ā said Lizete Vega, the church's family engagement coordinator. āPeople here feel that theyāre protected and can be cared for spiritually, emotionally and physically.ā
Mental health and faith ministry collaborations increase
Faith leaders have increasingly found themselves called to help their congregations with mental health concerns, from to .
Some see the need to provide reassurance and well-being as a growing part of their ministry to migrants, even as revised federal immigration guidelines now provide more leeway for in or near houses of worship.
āIt was as if they were able to exhale a big breath,ā the Rev. Hierald Osorto said of the 30 congregants who signed up for the first well-being session in March at St. Paulās, where an outdoor mural features two traditional Swedish Dala horses between the Spanish words āsanaciĆ³nā (healing) and āresilienciaā (resilience).
After last Sundayās worship, the altar table and Easter lilies were moved to make room for seven acupuncture chairs, arranged in a circle facing the central cross. Three massage tables were set up in front of the pews for the Reiki treatment, where practitioners hold their hands on or near the bodyās energy centers.
āTo see this space be quite literally a place of healing, in the place where we talk about it right at the altar, it moved me to tears,ā Osorto said.
Rising anxiety and confusion affect migrantsā mental health and well-being
Wellness practitioners and mental health clinicians say anxiety and depression among those they serve in migrant communities have spread and intensified this year.
Already, migrants often arrive with from violence they fled in their home countries as well as attacks along to and through the U.S. border.
Women in particular often suffer sexual violence on the journey. For many, the fear that they or someone in their families might be deported is revictimizing. That makes it imperative that āsafe placesā exist where they can focus on wellness, said Noeline Maldonado, executive director of The Healing Center, which helps domestic and sexual violence victims in Brooklyn, New York.
Sessions that promote grounding and mindfulness are necessary to cope with the stress of both immediate crises as well as long-term unpredictability as immigration policies shift.
āUncertainty is the biggest thing,ā said Cheryl Aguilar, director of Hope Center for Wellness in the Washington, D.C., area, which has partnered with churches to provide mental health programs.
Being in community and cultivating hope is crucial because many people are responding to fear with rising anxiety, traumatic symptoms and isolation, all of which can have lasting consequences, Aguilar added.
āItās nonstop work, nonstop fear,ā said Sarah Howell, a clinical social worker in Houston with more than a decade of experience in migration-related trauma. āEvery issue seems bigger.ā
Howell said many of her clients in Texas are realizing they canāt live in a state of constant alarm, and the respite that wellness programs can bring becomes essential.
Finding healing in houses of worship
āPeople feel hopeless, but they have to keep fighting,ā said Guadalupe Gonzalez, one of the bilingual Reiki practitioners whose organization, Odigo Wellness, partnered with St. Paul's in Minneapolis to offer the sessions.
She said she had some doubts about offering these healing practices inside a church ā a large space with light flooding in and people moving through.
āBut the sanctuary has a very nice, very positive energy,ā Gonzalez said. āAs practitioners we feel a lot of emotions.ā
Several congregants who attended last Sundayās two-hour wellness session said they felt both the energy and the connection between these healing practices and faith.
Martha Dominguez came bouncing down the altar steps after an acupuncture session. Grinning, she said she had never imagined a church would offer these kinds of ābenefits.ā
āYes, it helps so much,ā said the Mexican immigrant. āIt takes the stress away from you.ā
Limber Saliero, a roofer from Ecuador who has been worshipping at St. Paulās for more than a year, said he had never heard of acupuncture but decided to try it.
āI felt like an energy that was flowing into me,ā he said.
Vanessa Arcos tried acupuncture with her sister and her father, while her mother got a Reiki treatment. The family started attending the church the week they arrived in Minnesota from their home state of Guerrero, Mexico, almost a decade ago.
Lying in the lounge chair next to a statue of the , Arcos said she overcame her fear of needles and found the treatment relaxing for both muscles and mind.
āIt felt very peaceful, very safe,ā Arcos said. āItās important to do little things for yourself.ā
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This story has been updated to correct Lizete Vegaās job title to family engagement coordinator instead of its Latino outreach coordinator. It has also been corrected to reflect that Limber Saliero has worshipped at St. Paulās for more than a year, instead of five years.
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Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the APās with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.
Giovanna Dellāorto, The Associated Press
