September is Suicide Prevention Month, an opportunity for congregations to learn how to recognize warning signs, connect people with mental health resources, offer compassionate care, and remind each other of our God-given value. For Cindy Killian, a member of Saint Peter Lutheran Church in Southport, this work has become deeply personal.

Cindy’s son, Wills Citty, was a successful attorney who struggled seriously with his mental health. Despite years of treatment, counseling, and support from his family, Wills died by suicide on April 18, 2025.

Saint Peter’s Pastor Jason Huebner presided at Wills’ funeral, reminding those gathered of God’s enduring love and grace, proclaimed in our baptismal liturgy. Through water and the Word, the baptized are “marked with the cross of Christ, sealed with the Holy Spirit, forever.” Even in the deepest struggles, God’s promises and love remain.

For Cindy, that assurance has become part of her response to loss. She created Team Wills Warriors in Wills’ memory to support the Walk for Hope, an annual event begun 37 years ago by the Foundation for Hope in Raleigh. Funds raised through the Walk go directly to UNC’s Department of Psychiatry to support research into mental illnesses including PTSD, schizophrenia, eating disorders and postpartum depression.

Last year, Team Wills Warriors raised $12,749 toward the Walk’s more than $1 million total. Cindy’s story was also featured in a recent Walk for Hope video.

This year, Cindy has published Recipes and Recollections: My Love Language with Wills and Avery, a cookbook celebrating the food and memories she shared with Wills and her daughter, Avery. She is donating proceeds from the cookbook to support this year’s Walk for Hope and hopes the effort will raise awareness and support for mental health and suicide prevention efforts across the synod.

The cookbook is one tangible way Cindy is turning love and grief into action. For congregations, her story is also an invitation: to notice when someone is struggling, to reach out with compassion, and to remind one another that none of us is beyond the reach of God’s love.

To purchase a cookbook for $30 and support the Walk for Hope, suicide prevention, and mental health research, contact Cindy by email. Please include your name, number of cookbooks, full address, email address, and phone number.