Note: This article includes a description of a stillborn birth. It seemed to be a normal evening. I was at home watching TV when I received an urgent call from one of the members of my congregation who needed my…
Moving from trauma to action
I was talking with someone very close to me recently who said something important I want to share: Our country has so many things going wrong, so many things really to feel ashamed about in a way, that it seems…
Why do we still wonder when violence happens?
Why do we wonder? That is an important question for God-folk like us. It is probably a question we ask regularly, or at least one we should ask frequently. After our first reactions of lament, anger and frustration at the…
‘Marker events’ leave scars whether visible or not, psychologist explains
Marker events — especially the scary ones like the assassination of John F. Kennedy, 9-11 and Hurricane Ida — always leave some form of an emotional scar, even in those who weren’t physically present for the trauma, according to clinical…
Six ways white and multiethnic churches can heal the wounds of racial trauma
“Trauma” is a word that comes from the Greek term for “wound.” Often, the most painful wounds are not physical, but those that cannot be seen with the natural eye. There is a particular type of trauma that can impact…
We need to remember the scars of our trauma in a post-pandemic world
I went to a Red Sox game a couple of weeks ago for the first time in more than a year. Fenway Park recently reopened its stadium to fans but was selling tickets to partial capacity at the time. Before…
After COVID: Where do we go from here?
After 14 months of strict isolation and quarantine, vaccines are finally rolling out across the country with snowballing momentum. As of April 19, every American age 16 and older is eligible to receive a vaccine to protect against the COVID-19…
After spiritual trauma, finding welcome in church once more
Growing up, the church always was a safe place for me. I grew up in the same small-town church my entire life, and a lot of our life revolved around the church. Sundays were filled with Sunday school and the…
Finding new life in the desert as a church becomes a place of healing for racial trauma
Hot, tumbleweeds, dry, brown, desert, mountain. These are words often used to describe El Paso, Texas. When I think of El Paso, I think of the sun kissing my skin. Heat enveloping me like the embrace of a long-lost friend….