Tagged With "Covenant Church"
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How poor phone etiquette (or “phubbing”) affects the child of divorce
Posted on April 6, 2016 by Linda Jacobs There she sat at a fast-food restaurant, single mom alone with her daughter. The place was mostly empty. A worker was mopping the floor, and the little girl was fascinated with his chore. Her mom was glued to her cell phone. The little girl’s dinner sat at the table, untouched except for a few french fries she’d poke in her mouth as she ran back to the table every so often. Maybe it’s because I’m cognizant of what kids of divorce go through and aware...
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Hungry hearts have no ears
Churches can't expect to meet spiritual needs if physical needs are not being met first. “Hungry hearts have no ears.” This was a phrase that Ms. Kennedy, an elementary teacher, used to tell the parents of children in...
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Influencer's Church of Cumming, GA Hosts Strategic Trauma and Abuse Recovery: A Detailed Map for Healing
Strategic Trauma and Abuse Recovery is an evidence-informed, spiritually integrated, structured process for conducting ACEs (trauma) recovery education and treatment. The Backbone of S.T.A.R. is The 3 Progressive Phases of Trauma and Abuse Recovery. These 3 phases are further broken down into 12 stages, which provides for transitions and breaks down the process in a simpler fashion. The stages provide a strategy for moving through the healing process, much like a map. It gives both providers...
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Intermountain hosts trauma-informed ministry training and workshop
Chaplain Chris Haughee of Intermountain's Residential Services in Helena, Montana, hosted an all-day training and workshop on trauma-informed ministry on September 15th, 2016. The day started off with introductions and then it was time for Brie Oliver, ACE Master Trainer, to give the group the basics in adverse childhood experiences, the science behind life-long health effects from childhood trauma, and share the possible ways faith communities could help build resiliency in children and...
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Investing in the Next Generation of Health-Focused Leaders [RWJF.org]
Looking out upon the worshippers at New Era Church in downtown Indianapolis, Rev. Dr. Clarence C. Moore sees row after row of families facing difficult challenges stemming from a pressing statewide problem: the over-incarceration of black people. Indiana ranks second in the country for the number of children who have an incarcerated parent. As a result, many children live in single-parent households or foster care, and live in poverty. Many lack a formal education until they reach...
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Is spirituality essential for recovery? [Behavioral.net]
Get ready to squirm in your seats because we need to have a talk with you about spirituality. Spirituality is a topic we behavioral health types have shied away from: Professionals are taught to avoid it in their practices, and organizations have...
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“Jesus didn’t live in a gated community” (salon.com)
This isn’t the first time in history that people who call themselves Christians have been doing awful things. It isn’t the first time many of us who still seek meaning in our faith find ourselves questioning what our belief system truly stands for in the real world. Yet it feels a particularly acute moment nonetheless, one in which the need to speak out against hypocrisy and injustice is stronger than it has been in recent memory, and when the temptation to bail on belief seems on many days...
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Jimmy Carter Makes One Final Push to End Racism [TheAtlantic.com]
Jimmy Carter, 91, has a wish for his fellow Baptists: end racism. “Our country is waking up now to the fact that we still have a long way to go in winning a battle that we thought was over in the 1970s or ’60s,” he said in an interview. The longtime Sunday school teacher and former United States president wants to start this change within his own faith: He’s pushing churches to organize around social-justice issues, including racial discrimination. But the future of progressive Christianity...
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Kids in trauma and heart-felt connections
Have you ever had a child who has experienced a crisis or trauma get attached to you? I’ve had children who I knew were connected to me emotionally. However, I had no idea of the depth of these connections. For the child of divorce and other life-changing traumas, it is a different kind of connection. They become attached not only to you but also to their memory of you. You might call it a heart-felt connection . And they hold on to this memory for years. In their minds they know where they...
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Know Your ACE PLACE
What did you think about when you first learned about ACEs? If you have completed the 10-question ACE survey, you will know your score and might have some idea as to the score of your parents or your children. What is your perspective? Where do you stand? By placing yourself in one or more of the following categories, which I will call ACE PLACES, you will be taking the first step toward the healing and prevention of ACEs.
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Knowing and Growing - a look in to a recent chapel lesson from my Resilience series
Dear friends at ACEsConnection, I thought it might be of interest to you to see an example of how I am integrating the themes of resilience building, and in particular the measures from the Children and Youth Resilience Measure (CYRM-12+4), into our chapel times on campus at Intermountain Residential Services in Helena, Montana. What appears below is part of the lesson built around the tried and true measure of resilience: can the child identify skills and abilities that are making them more...
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Let Light Shine Out of Darkness: Leading and Loving in a World of Trauma and Suffering (Workshop)
THE CHURCH IS CALLED TO BE A HEALING PRESENCE IN THE WORLD. But the reality is that the world is filled with so much suffering, so much pain, and so much suffering that it can be overwhelming to a church and its leaders. Where do we begin? What happens if we get in over our heads? These are all real and important questions. THE BEST WAY FOR THE CHURCH TO BE THIS HEALING PRESENCE IN THE WORLD IS TO LEARN THE REALITIES OF THE SUFFERING THAT IS ALL AROUND THEM, BOTH OUTSIDE THE CHURCH AND...
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ACEs Science Champions Series: Linda Ranson Jacobs, Bringing ACEs to Church Leaders
Linda Ranson Jacobs discovered the Kaiser-CDC ACE Study three years ago when she read how Lincoln High School in Walla Walla, WA, changed its approach to disciplining students. Through her experience as a childcare provider and independent...
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Members of the Parish Liaison Network learn about trauma informed care (Catholic Herald)
Elizabeth A. Elliott 9/16/19, Catholic Herald Staff Writer Look around you. Chances are you, or someone you may know, have gone through a traumatic event. Veronica Roth, program director of Catholic Charities’ St. Margaret of Cortona Family Residences in Woodbridge, introduced members of the Parish Liaison Network to trauma informed care at St. Theresa Church in Ashburn Sept. 13. “It is important to ask what happened to you, not what is wrong with you,” said Roth. “Something happened that...
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Mentorship Without Borders
I am privileged to sit on the Board of Partners for Schools, a faith-in-action non-profit organization located in Lynden, Washington. In just a few years after its inception by local residents, Denny and Nancy McHarness, the program has found...
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Methodist teens rejected their memberships before the entire congregation to protest its anti-LGBT policies. (upworthy.com)
The United Methodist Church (UMC), which claims over 7 million members in the U.S., is heading towards a fracture after a controversial decision last February that banned LGBT-inclusive practices. The decision has created a schism in the church with some UMCs flying gay flags, performing same-sex weddings, and withholding payments to the main offices in protest. On Easter Sunday at the First United Methodist Church in Omaha, Nebraska, at group of eight 13 and 14-year-old UMC youth stood up...
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Moving Beyond Trauma-Informed
There are four levels of development in treating psychological trauma. Being trauma-informed: This is a broad stroke meaning that you recognize that trauma is a pivotal experience in your client’s lives and yours. Adopting a trauma-informed approach: Now that you have recognition of the importance of trauma in your client’s life, you should want to make some changes in the way you practice. At this level, you need to make an intentional shift in your approach from one that asks, “What’s...
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My Tears in His Bottle: prayers from the heart of a special needs’ mom
Pat Hays has written a devotional book that gives wonderful insight into the joys and struggles that parenting a child with emotional special needs presents. Her book, My Tears in His Bottle: prayers from the heart of a special needs’ mom , contains excerpts from her personal prayer journal as she worked through the last fifteen years of balancing her calling to be an adoptive parent with the roadblocks she encountered in her neighborhood, friendships, school district, marriage, and church...
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New ACEs Bible Study release "Family. It's Complicated"
I just wanted the ACEs Connection community to be aware of a new bible study on ACEs. This will officially be released on 11/15 but is available now at a pre-order price. The video link below explains more about the study. https://cope24.com/faith-based-church-initiative/ If you have any questions please let me know.
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New and improved 2nd edition of the "Bruised Reeds & Smoldering Wicks" trauma-informed curriculum for churches now available!
I am pleased to announce that a NEW, 8-week version of the study, "Bruised Reeds and Smoldering Wicks," is now available. This 2nd edition includes input I received from the ACEsConnection community and others which resulted in two additional weeks of material. You still get the movie, "Paper Tigers," and the licensing to show it to up to 250 in an educational or religious setting, but there is much more... And, while a number of edits have gone into this second edition of the curriculum, my...
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New publication on the Church and Mental Health
One of my responsibilities with the American Baptist Home Mission Societies is as executive editor of The Christian Citizen. I'm pleased to announce that the latest issue of our publication focusing on "Communities of Care: The Church and Mental...
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New Trauma-informed curriculum for training ministries available as an instant digital download!!
I have been blessed by the response to the curriculum "Bruised Reeds and Smoldering Wicks," now having sent it out to ministries in 26 States and the District of Columbia. I have already received a little feedback and made some minor changes to content, but what I am most excited about is that t he curriculum is now available in a downloadable digital format! For those that have not seen previous posts on the curriculum, the study is for adult small groups or classes and is laid out into the...
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Notes from November 18, 2014 Trauma Responsive Congregations Community of Practice
Notes from November 18, 2014 Trauma Informed Congregations Community of Practice Doug Ronshiem -- American Pastoral Counselors Roberta Waite -- Drexel Sabrina – Salvation Army Jon McHatton – Congressman Matt Salmon’s office...
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Observing Mother's Day and Father's Day in a trauma-informed church
I recently had two events that caused me to think purposefully about what a responsible approach to the upcoming holidays of Mother’s Day and Father’s Day may be for a church that is seeking to be sensitive to the trauma histories that their worshipping community may have. The first was an invitation to preach at a church in my community that has done a great deal to advance the faith communities awareness to the effects of ACEs (Adverse Childhood Experiences) and mental health needs within...
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Police and community leaders meet to talk race, religion, and bias; will march together in August (ocregister.com)
IRVINE – Police officers, African Americans, Christians, Muslims, Mormons, Sikhs and Jews. On Wednesday morning, they all sat down at Christ Our Redeemer African American Episcopal Church to talk to about the issues that concern them the most today – race, religion, fair policing and implicit bias. This was the fourth meeting of the Orange County Sheriff Department’s Interfaith Advisory Council, which was formed in January to mobilize diverse faith communities and engage with the Sheriff to...
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Question of the week: Do elementary age children seriously consider suicide?
Recently I was chatting online with a group of children’s ministers when someone brought up the subject of suicide in children. No one wants to think that children as young as eight or nine years of age would be at risk for suicide or even...
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Red zones in schools and churches—when kids don’t feel safe!
Ever heard of the “Red Zone?” Many of us understand that when something enters the red zone, it can prove to be a daunting situation. For example, if your car overheats, and the temperature gauge moves into the red zone, it’s important to check the engine to see what’s going on. Otherwise, the car may overheat or cause a fire, and you may find yourself stranded and standing on the side of the road. Wikipedia has a few examples of the Red Zone: Unsafe areas in Iraq after the 2003 invasion A...
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Register now for "Bruised Reeds and Smoldering Wicks" seminar Oct. 26th!
Register now for "Bruised Reeds and Smoldering Wicks" - A study of trauma-informed ministry and compassionate care for children from hard places and situations. Join us for the morning to hear from Rev. Dr. Chris Haughee, chaplain for Intermountain Residential Services in Helena, Montana. Chris’ professional work with children who have lived through significant trauma, his own personal experience as an adoptive father of two and his work with the Adverse Childhood Experiences ACEs study led...
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Religion and Faith - A Protective Factor and Contributor of Resilience
Hi Folks, Each month i receive CROSSROADS, a Newsletter of the Center for Spirituality, Theology & Health Volume 9 Issue 8 Feb 2020 . The link is to their latest newsletter. One of the reported research studies caught my eye as I read the newsletter today. And so I thought I'd share it here. To me, this is an example of the protective factor that involvement in a community of faith can have on adolescents. Faith can play a critical and valuable factor in helping one be resilient in the...
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Resources
8 Notes on Counseling Abused Children http://theresurgence.com/2013/02/02/8-notes-on-counseling-abused-children Bryant church helps domestic violence victims...
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RESPITE Conference - Registration is OPEN!
RESPITE Conference: Building a Trauma-Informed Community Saturday, October 12, 2019 from 9:00 AM – 6:00 PM Granada Heights Friends Church – La Mirada 11818 La Mirada Blvd., La Mirada, CA 90638 About the Conference: Learn more about the impacts of trauma through an informative and interactive day of training with education , resources , and tools that will equip you and your environment to serve the most vulnerable among us. The day will include main sessions, tailored breakouts, and...
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Sharing the Word: ACE Knowledge is “Secular Gospel” for Montana Pastor
When Reverend Tyler Amundson first read the 1998 ACE study, he realized that this landmark science could become a common language: a way to talk about adversity and healing with clinicians and government officials, devout churchgoers and people who would never step inside a place of worship. “I call this the secular gospel,” he says. “It was easy to describe the ACE study to people. It opened a door for us to name how people face trauma and adversity and how positive relationships can help...
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Silent Cries: How the church can help people with mental illness [ChristianityToday.com]
I remember my family life while growing up in San Antonio, Texas as being tattooed by chaos, conflict, and consistent pain. My older relatives were often haunted by drug and alcohol abuse, violent relationships, and illegal activities. Like a...
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Six-week adult Sunday school curriculum on trauma-informed ministry coming soon!
Within the next month, I will be making available a draft version of an adult Sunday School curriculum that will introduce the concept of trauma-informed ministry to churches. If there are members of ACEsConnection that would like to "test run" the curriculum, I'd be honored if you'd reach out to me in the comments section or via a direct message. Email works, too! Just send to chrish@intermountain.org. The curriculum just takes a look at the "slice" of trauma-informed ministry that I am...
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Something to Consider... for the next time you teach or preach on worry
As I start to talk with pastors about why ACEs matter and why they should inform themselves and their congregations, I regularly hear something like this: "But why does it matter? What difference should it make in ministry? Can't I simply preach and teach the Bible and leave the results up to God?" By way of answer to these questions, I am starting to put together a training called "10 things that kid with ACEs would like you to know: moving your church toward greater empathy." The following...
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Spiritual Abuse In Religious Contexts
Resilience is a protective factor for ACE's and usually involves one's ability to create meaning of a traumatic or adverse childhood experience. Our ability to cope and make meaning through the avenue of religion and spirituality can be confused and crushed beneath the impact of spiritual abuse. If we are wanting to educate faith based communities about the impact of ACE's and trauma, we must address the issue of spiritual abuse. I listened to a great podcast today by The Liturgists Podcast...
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Study Uncovers Barriers to Addressing Mental Health Issues in the PC(USA) [pres-outlook.org]
By Presbyterian News Service, February 7, 2020 Although Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) members and leaders desire to address mental health issues in their communities and churches, many feel unprepared to do so. That’s according to a churchwide study recently conducted on behalf of the leadership staff of the Presbyterian Mental Health Initiative called for by the 2018 General Assembly. The study was commissioned by the Presbyterian Mission Agency’s Compassion, Peace & Justice Ministry,...
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The Compassionate Christian Response to Adverse Childhood Experiences
Davis Community Church 401 C street will be hosting an 8 week Bible based class from Oct 6-Nov 24 from 12-1:15 entitled the Compassionate Christian Response to Childhood Adversity. RSVP through church office : office@dccpres.org or call 530-7580182. Space limited to 20 Childhood Adversity and The Compassionate Christian Response Did you know adverse childhood experiences are very common, yet they are often unrecognized as contributors to poor physical and emotional well being across...
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The Tiny Cell that Connects our Physical and Mental Health, and Solves a Decades-old Mystery of Why Toxic Stress Leads to Brain Changes that Spark Depression, Anxiety
More than a decade ago, I was diagnosed with several autoimmune diseases, one after another, including Guillain-Barré syndrome , which left me paralyzed twice while raising two young children. All told I spent six years in and out of bed and hospitals, learning, between crises, to use a cane or walker to navigate life as a working-mother-with-chronic-illness. My immune system was repeatedly and mistakenly attacking my body, causing the nerves in my arms, legs, and those I needed to swallow...
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They went to Pride with 'I'm sorry' signs, and people are feeling all the feels. (upworthy.com)
The Philippines' LGBTQ community and its allies gathered near the capitol city of Manila June 30 to celebrate Pride. Like most public Pride events, the march drew plenty of people who were decidedly not there to celebrate love and acceptance. Surprisingly, though, some religious groups were there for a completely different reason - they came to say sorry. "I'm sorry," read a large banner carried by one Christian group that marched in solidarity with the LGBTQ community. "We're here to...
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Today's kids are experiencing a world full of trauma. Is your church trauma-informed?
In our world today, many children experience early childhood trauma. Through a lot of research, we now know that childhood trauma can affect children for the rest of their lives. ACEs too High explains in several articles and research reviews how trauma in early childhood can affect kids’ behavior and health during childhood and cause lifelong problems. We know early trauma causes toxic stress in the brains of young children—so much so that the American Academy of Pediatrics has issued a...
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Trauma-informed churches
In our world today many children are experiencing early childhood trauma. We now know through a lot of research that childhood trauma can affect a child for the rest of their lives. The website ACEs too High (Adverse Childhood Experiences)...
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Trauma-Informed Churches – Children's Ministry Conference Notes
These notes were posted about a conference led by group member Linda Ranson Jacobs by GJ Farmer, children’s pastor at First Baptist Church in Somerset, KY, on his blog, ChildrensMinistryBlog.com: Early trauma causes disorganized...
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Trauma-Informed Churches – CMConnect Conference Notes
This blog post are notes written by GJ Farmer and taken from a workshop Linda Ranson Jacobs presented for CMConnect Conference in 2015. Early trauma causes disorganized attachment. In early attachments children feel safe. If there are attachment issues, the impulse is fight or flight. Childhood trauma affects children into adulthood. If we want a church of the future, we must become trauma-informed. “Sometimes that angry look, that stare, that inappropriate response, is a cry for help more...
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Trauma Informed Congregation Movement in Arizona
As a social work professional, I was involved in the trauma field twenty years ago. But I became a charismatic nondenominational church pastor, starting a college campus prayer movement. With my cultural heritage and training at an evangelical seminary, the focus of my ministry has been intercession, multi-ethnic discipleship and servant leadership. However, the development of community service involvement with the ministry brought me back to the engagement in my previous professional field.
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Trauma Informed Congregation Movement in Arizona
As a social work professional, I was involved in the trauma field twenty years ago. But I became a charismatic nondenominational church pastor, starting a college campus prayer movement. With my cultural heritage and training at an evangelical seminary, the focus of my ministry has been intercession, multi-ethnic discipleship and servant leadership. However, the development of community service involvement with the ministry brought me back to the engagement in my previous professional field.
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Trauma-Informed Ministry curriculum, "Bruised Reeds and Smoldering Wicks," now available on Amazon as an e-book!
Bruised Reeds and Smoldering Wicks is a study on the intersections between the science of adversity in childhood (ACEs), trauma, and ministry. Suitable for individuals exploring how their faith and the science of brain development, toxic stress, and spiritual formation are connected, this study is best explored by small groups that want to being trauma-informed ministry interventions and outreach within their faith communities. This e-book version doesn't have the videos that are part of the...
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Trauma-Informed Ministry study, "Bruised Reeds and Smoldering Wicks" now an Amazon ebook!
Bruised Reeds and Smoldering Wicks is a study on the intersections between the science of adversity in childhood (ACEs), trauma, and ministry. Suitable for individuals exploring how their faith and the science of brain development, toxic stress, and spiritual formation are connected, this study is best explored by small groups that want to being trauma-informed ministry interventions and outreach within their faith communities. This e-book version doesn't have the videos that are part of the...
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Unconditional Love: Faith Leaders as Agents of Change in the ACEs and Resilience Movement
The Rev. Sanghoon Yoo learned about the ACE Study, saw the film Paper Tigers and understood that there might be a way to bridge the chasm between faith-based views of wellness and traditional approaches to mental health. “When I heard from the science and Paper Tigers that one of the most important factors for resilience is unconditional love, I thought: That’s not medical. That’s my language. That was an ‘aha’ moment for me; I never thought mental health and faith would go together.” Yoo,...