Tagged With "ACEs and faith"
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Conference offers clergy training in child trauma [The Oaklahoman]
Several faith organizations and other agencies are joining forces to offer a special clergy training conference. The "Faith Communities Protecting Children: Recognizing and Responding to Adverse Childhood Experiences Conference" is set for April 2 from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m . at Metro Tech Business Conference Center, 1900 Springlake Drive. "We strongly believe that faith-based organizations can and do play an important role in the prevention and healing of children who have experienced...
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Consider a Resolution in 2017 worth keeping: Advocacy
2017 is here, and it’s the season when most of us consider New Year’s resolutions and even the most cynical among us dares to think that with a little will power we might do any number of things: lose weight, eat healthier, watch less TV, get that promotion, or repair damaged relationships. This year, I’d ask you to consider a resolution that will make the world a better place and will give you a sense of purpose in 2017: be an advocate. An advocate is someone who speaks on behalf of someone...
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Covenant Pastors Collaborate to address Mental Health, ACEs
I couldn't be prouder of my home church, Headwaters Covenant Church in Helena, MT. Throughout the fall, we have been purposefully and carefully addressing subjects that the church often avoids. Among these topics are the family dysfunction that results from generational trauma, the prevalence of adversity in childhood within families in Montana, training in suicide awareness and prevention, and moral injury (especially among our veterans and service men and women). Just this last Sunday we...
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Developing compassion for our neighbors and ourselves: trauma-informed faith
Even when we feel like God doesn’t hear us, he can guide our path to people and ideas that will resonate with our spirits and bring healing... The process of becoming trauma-informed can help us to develop compassion. We can overcome personal barriers that prevent us from reaching out to others in loving ways. We will be able to feel and share more of God’s love.
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Divinity School graduate finds his community in ministry [The Harvard Gazette]
By Lian Parsons, June 27, 2019, The Harvard Gazette Israel Buffardi, M.Div. ’19, walked a long and winding path before finding his calling. The Rhode Island native was raised Catholic and from an early age felt a strong draw to spirituality and ritual. At age 14, he decided he wanted to become a priest. This plan changed when he realized he was queer. Coming out precipitated many questions about his faith, such as the acceptance and inclusion of LGBTQ people. “I felt like I had a deep...
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Don't Just Treat the Symptoms!
Recently, I've been reading more and more about trauma and its impact on one's life and health. It's my appreciation that traumatic events or circumstances are wounds to one's spirit. And spiritual wounds require spiritual solutions. ...
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Elevate Montana - Helena Affiliate and "trial run" of new trauma-informed curriculum for churches
To date, over 80 copies of the curriculum Bruised Reeds and Smoldering Wicks: a six week study of trauma-informed ministry and compassionate care for children from hard places and situations have gone out around the country. Released this past spring, most have ordered it to preview the materials prior to utilization this coming fall. So, while feedback has been positive, there have been few users with specific comments related to how their teaching experience has gone (because, well... they...
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Empowered To Connect - worth forwarding
As a parent of 4 young children and career education professionals working in special education - my wife and I embarked on an "adoption journey" through a number of events several years ago. In addition to reading books, talking with other adoptive...
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Faith and Mental Health: Creating a culture of encounter and friendship
My article “Faith and mental health: Creating a culture of encounter and friendship” has been published in the May issue of Review & Expositor: An International Baptist Journal. Article introduces the Mental Health and Faith Community Partnership which the Interfaith Disability Advocacy Coalition helped launch with the American Psychiatric Association and focuses on how congregations and faith leaders can work with psychiatrists and the mental health community to reduce stigma and...
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Faith Based DVDs for the Hearing Impaired
ACE Overcomers has started a kickstarter campaign to fund DVD's that include American Sign Language interpretation. Combining sound biblical principles and solid science, this 12 lesson trauma-informed curriculum will help you understand and overcome...
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Faith in the Future When ACEs are History
“WHAT ABOUT FAITH-based communities—where are they in your plan?” is a question we have gotten when we describe our ACEs prevention initiative in New Mexico called 100% Community. And, it’s one we are pleased to answer. We are often as ked what role religious organizations have in our work. It is estimated that there are approximately 350,000 religious congregations in the United States, representing a wide range of beliefs. With approximately 350,000,000 people in the country, that’s about...
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Finding healing after trauma: Elizabeth Smart (courtesy of Goalcast)
One of the most common questions I get from the trauma-affected children I serve is, "Why did God allow [insert really awful, tragic experience] to happen to me?" I imagine it's a question that most pastors, ministers, chaplains, and those Christians who share their faith with others face. It's fundamentally a relational question, not a theological one... and that's important to remember. The question is seeking the reason why a God who is Love could allow something that is experienced as...
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Finding Spirituality and My Own God In Recovery From Drugs
Finding spirituality is something I had to find through pain and suffering emotionally. I grew up without much of an idea of god, my parents didn't force it on me. When I was a teenager however, I climbed on the soapbox of thinking people who had faith in god were weak and fools for doing so. My ego was in full force during these times, the transformation that has taken place since then is nothing short of amazing and shows off not only the power and grace of god, but the love. I was someone...
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Finding Spirituality and My Own God In Recovery From Drugs
Finding spirituality is something I had to find through pain and suffering emotionally. I grew up without much of an idea of god, my parents didn't force it on me. When I was a teenager however, I climbed on the soapbox of thinking people who had faith in god were weak and fools for doing so. My ego was in full force during these times, the transformation that has taken place since then is nothing short of amazing and shows off not only the power and grace of god, but the love. I was someone...
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Footprints comforts children in grief [Statesman.com]
Footprints, a local children’s grief ministry, has been founded in order to help those age 6 to 18 cope with the death of a loved one. “It actually started out of a [Nurture Committee] at First United Methodist Church,” said Jim Ruth, one of the non-profit’s leaders. “We got a lot of things in place and rolling when we were a ministry of the church.” That ministry actually began in 2011 and more recently evolved into a full-fledged non-profit. Ruth...
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For those that ordered... the trauma-informed curriculum for churches is headed out the door this week!
It's been a labor of love more than a year in the making, and it is exciting to see the curriculum come together and head out to those that will give this first version a "test drive" this spring and (hopefully) give me some great feedback so I can make improvements over the summer and make the curriculum better! It is called "Bruised Reeds and Smoldering Wicks: a six week study of trauma-informed ministry and compassionate care for children from hard places and situations." The study is...
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From suffering to triumph... learning through adversity during Lent
My approach to my own personal adversity and trauma has been deeply shaped by my spirituality. I grew up in a liturgical church, which means that we kept to something called the "Church calendar" which had seasons built into it for various readings, celebrations and observances. Every late winter brought with it the experience of "Ash Wednesday" that led into Lent, a time of self-examination, observance of disciplines and practices that framed human suffering into a larger context, a grand...
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From Trauma-Informed to Asset-Informed Care in Early Childhood [brookings.edu]
By Ellen Galinsky, Brookings Institute, October 23, 2019 The focus on “toxic stress,” ACEs (Adverse Childhood Experiences), and trauma-informed care have been game-changers in the field of early childhood development. They have helped us recognize the symptoms of trauma, provide appropriate assistance to children, and understand that prolonged adversity in the absence of nurturing relationships can derail a child’s healthy development. Just look at the media’s and the public’s reaction to...
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Ground-breaking Bible study on trauma-informed ministry/ACEs now available on Amazon, Barnes and Noble
I've been busy trying to make the study as accessible and available to those interested in sharing trauma-informed principles within their churches and fellowships, and I am pleased to announce a few new developments: First, the study is available as an e-book on both Amazon and Barnes and Noble. In fact, to celebrate the release of the book on Barnes and Noble, you can get the study for half price through June 15. Just use the code BNPCHRIS50) at check out! Click HERE to go directly to the...
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Healing our Communities through Trauma Informed Ministries
Thirteen faith leaders, behavioral health providers, and community leaders gathered on August 12 in City Heights for an introduction to the science and practice of adverse childhood experiences, and to hear about an upcoming series of workshops about mental health services in their communities. The series, which is led by Pastor Jesus Sandoval, chair of the Faith Based Academy, intends to bring together 25 Hispanic and 25 African American ministries with staff from San Diego County's Health,...
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"Helping Kids Heal" Five Minutes with Chris Haughee from Covenant Companion
Five Minutes with Chris Haughee: Helping Kids Heal covenantcompanion.com /2018/04/16/five-minutes-with-chris-haughee-helping-kids-heal/ By Guest Author April 16, 2018 Chris Haughee Chris Haughee is a Covenant chaplain working at Intermountain Residential, an intensive residential program for children who demonstrate behavioral challenges with campuses in Helena and Kalispell, Montana. Chris and his family attend Headwaters Covenant Church in Helena. He writes about the ministry at...
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How Severe, Ongoing Stress Can Affect a Child’s Brain
Today I received an email from The Center on the Developing Child, a Harvard University initiative. One of the articles within the email was titled- How severe, ongoing stress can affect a child's brain . I found it to be a very well written article with many references and resources, as well as mention of the ACES Study. Just wanted to pass it along to the group. Have a blessed day!
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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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Interfaith Efforts to Address Religious-Based Bullying (huffingtonpost.com)
In December, a National Interfaith Anti-bullying Summit took place in Washington, DC. Organized by American Muslim Health Professionals , Institute for Social Policy and Understanding , Islamic Networks Group , National Baptist Convention , Salaam Shalom , and Sikh Kid to Kid , the conference aimed to facilitate deep conversation into religious bullying and what would be most effective for prevention. Over two days, more than 40 presenters spoke about what children are experiencing,...
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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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Investments in New Hanover County’s Resiliency Paying Off During Time of Pandemic
Cliff Barnett, Wilmington city council member; pastor at Warner Temple AME Zion, and chair of the Family Faith and Community committee for the New Hanover Resiliency Task Force (RTF), shares experience in using sign language during a regularly scheduled RTF meeting. (Other photos are from recent monthly RTF meetings). With training, community’s front lines are proving resilient to and aware of trauma’s impact WILMINGTON, NORTH CAROLINA April 7, 2020 Two years ago, the Resiliency Task Force...
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Iowa ACEs 360 collaboration with faith-rooted organizations
Iowa ACEs 360 invited Rev. Kirsten Preachy to Des Moines with goal to learn about the development and future plans of the Chicagoland Network, and discuss opportunities in Central Iowa.
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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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July TiCong Meeting Notes
TiCong Monthly Meeting June 30, 2016 2:30-4:00PM ET View the recorded webinar here: Register here: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/1539216596944850436 Welcome and Introductions -- Kimberly Konkel, HHS IEA/Partnership Center Best Practice/Emerging Model: Robin Saenger – Director and Founder of Peace4Tarpon . Robin was the Vice-Mayor of Tarpon Springs, FL when they decided to build a trauma informed community. They have lead the way in this effort, and we are thrilled to have them...
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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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Linear draft plan
Here's the draft version of the Trauma-Informed Congregations Community of Practice Linear Plan that Kimberly put together. You obviously can't read this screen-grab image, so open the document (the pdf is below), and add your feedback in the...
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LucidWitness: Increasing Public-Awareness of Developmental Trauma
LucidWitness blogposts are designed for social media to help grow awareness of developmental trauma among your network(s).
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Mass Shootings and ACES. Spiritual Issues Require Spiritual Solutions!
The primary solution to reducing the number of ‘mass shootings‘ and ‘hate crimes’ and ‘gun violence’ that occur in our country is not another policy or law.
The solution lies in getting to and addressing the root issues that are driving people to conduct these horrific crimes.
I believe the emphasis must be placed on prevention and healing at the deepest, personal level…. getting to the root of the problem at hand. By getting to the “heart” of the issue!
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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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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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NEW YEAR. NEW YOU.
Take the road less traveled. As the New Year quickly approaches, many of us spend time in review and reflection of the past year’s events and initiate strategic planning for the upcoming year. We create and contemplate lists of resolutions, often featuring some of the same goals from the previous year. But we convince ourselves that this is going to be the year for change and transformation. 2 Corinthians 5: 17 " Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creation: old things are passed...
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Notes from January 14, 2015 Trauma Informed Congregations Community of Practice conference call
Kimberly Konkel put together the notes from the call and asked me to post: 22 people participated: · Doug Ronshiem -- American Pastoral Counselors...
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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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Overcoming a Difficult Childhood: FREE 12 Lesson DVDs with American Sign Language
Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE’s) affect how a person develops physically, emotionally, cognitively, and spiritually. The ACE Overcomers series provides answers to many difficult questions. Through a combination of Biblical principles and sound science, these 12 powerful sessions will begin to retrain your brain and reset your nervous system. This course has helped many to overcome the effects of stress and adversity, and to ultimately trust God with every detail of life. ACE Overcomers:...
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Peek Inside a Classroom: Jasmine
© Elliot Gilfix/Flickr . What happened to Jasmine? . Photo © Jinx!/Flickr When you look...