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physicalspiritualemotionalwellbeing

20 “I ask not only on behalf of these, but also on behalf of those who will believe in me through their word, 21 that they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us,[a] so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 22 The glory that you have given me I have given them, so that they may be one, as we are one, 23 I in them and you in me, that they may become completely one, so that the world may know that you have sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. – John 17:20-23

Spiritual Wellness Resources

Spiritual Wellbeing Cohort Grants

Spiritual Wellbeing Cohort Grants Now Open

Because peer-to-peer support creates long-lasting relationships, both personally and professionally, Bishop Dunlop is offering up to ten (10) $1,000 spiritual wellbeing grants for rostered ministers’ cohort groups to gather around a self-identified area of spiritual growth or edification.

Enjoy our Encountering Jesus Acoustic Hymn Spotify Playlist

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Protecting Yourself from Burnout

Maintaining healthy relationships and focusing on your priorities while leading a life of service requires skill in even the best circumstances. Do you feel equipped with the tools needed to protect yourself from burning out during these challenging times?

In a new episode of the Being Here podcast, “Protecting Yourself from Burnout,” Bishop Kristen Kuempel of the Northwest Intermountain Synod speaks with host the Rev. Melissa Pohlman about how she has seen the pandemic contribute to burnout among ELCA rostered ministers. Bishop Kuempel offers insights specifically for pastors, bishops, and deacons seeking to establish (or reestablish) healthy boundaries and life-giving self-care practices.

I invite you to carve out 40 minutes to listen to this episode and consider if any of the strategies could help you find balance and a greater sense of well-being.

Sacred Ordinary Days with Jenn Giles Kemper

The podcast Sacred Ordinary Days with Jenn Giles Kemper explores faith where it hits the pavement of work, relationships, creativity, and real life. Inspired by Jenn’s curiosity and faith (and her work as a minister and spiritual director) we’re crafting a show to help you meaningfully explore your own life with Christ — and ultimately lead you to become more wholly human and more fully faithful. On Tuesdays, join us for a conversation with folks whose words, work, and witness have shaped our team’s understanding of God and practice of faith. (Plus, we’re featuring lots of good music, prompts for your reflection and practice, and plenty of invitations into a community of kindred spirits!)

30 Days To Better Well-Being

Portico Benefit Services presents 30 Days to a Better Well-being: a day by day calendar with simple steps you can take to feel refreshed and renewed. You can download the calendar resource here!

Rest - Renew – Reframe

United Lutheran Seminary in Partnership with Regions 7 & 8 Synods present:
Summer Institute for Ministry – A Rostered Leaders Event
Rest – Renew – Reframe
August 9-12, 2021
Claggett Retreat Center outside Frederick, MD

Registration

Feeling emotionally spent, spiritually absent, and heading toward burnout?  You are not alone!  Join us for the 2021 ULS Summer Institute at Claggett Retreat Center in the rolling hills of Maryland where we’ll begin to breathe out the feelings of guilt, cynicism, and confrontation, and explore ways to be resilient, hold holy space, address struggles, and seek wellness even in the face of trauma and grief.  Join us for this time with other Rostered Leaders to gather in person to rest, renew, reframe and breathe in God’s calling for us in this time.

Each day will have no more than four hours of learning and will offer multiple times in the day to walk the labyrinth, visit a slave gravesite on the Trail of Souls, get a chair massage, nap, enjoy a guided meditation class, read a book on the veranda overlooking the Monocacy river valley, have time with a Spiritual Director or coach, and even find a friend to sit and remember what its like to just chat. We ask each person to bring a small bag of dirt from your home or ministry for our final sending.

This Retreat is presented in collaboration with Region 7 & 8 DEMs and Synod Staff and United Lutheran Seminary

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Topics of Study

Kairos SDT offers a comprehensive course of study while allowing for students to explore particular interests. Guest Experts, from a variety of religious, educational, and professional backgrounds, are invited to bring their own unique voice and experience to each month’s topic, which is then synthesized by the Spiritual Direction Faculty. Topics include:
• Spiritual Kinship
• Spiritual Practices and Contemplative Diversity
• Discernment
• Cultural Diversity
• Sexuality and Embodiment
• Human Formation
• Affects of Trauma
• Ethical Considerations
• Self-care and Professional Resilience
• Religious Diversity
• Contemplative Communities
• Dark Night Experiences

Click Here To Learn More & Apply

Spiritual Directors

Lower Susquehanna Synod Spiritual Directors

Christa Hesselink

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Allen Proctor

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Rev. Kyndall Rauthaus

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Rev. Solveig Nilsen-Goodi

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Emotional Wellbeing Counselors

Allie Kochert

Root Grow Thrive

Allie Kochert, MA, LPC, CSD, owner of Rooted Growth Counseling and Root Grow Thrive, is a spiritual director and psychotherapist. Her therapy and spiritual direction is decidedly embodied and focused on mind-body-spirit connection. She is owner of Root Grow Thrive, dedicated to supporting helpers, healers, and those in ministry leadership. She offers spiritual direction and soul care groups, and is passionate about supporting people in ministry, maintaining their resiliency and preventing burnout so they can grow and thrive in their vocations.

Visit her on the web

Contact her by email

View Allie’s PowerPoint Slides from her LSS Stress-Less Resiliency WorkshopContact her by email

Pastor Henry Herbener

Pastor Henry Herbener, a Lower Susquehanna Synod retired pastor, has extensive counseling background and experience and would be happy to meet with rostered ministers who feel they need counseling.

Contact him by email

Contact him by phone (717-368-4897)

Additional Counselors

Debbie Doubrava

LCSW

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Ellen Dionna

Psychotherapist and Spiritual Director

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Samaritan Counseling Center

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Spiritual Wellbeing

Spirituality Types

Most people experience God most intimately through one of four spirituality types. Understanding how you relate to God can help you fall deeper in love with Jesus. Knowing there are a variety of spirituality types helps us embrace and appreciate our diverse sets of human experiences. Thinking about God is one-sided and limits our relationship with God. Jesus’ alternates between structure and engagement to freedom and solitude with God. We can too.

Spirituality Tool

Breathing in Christ Podcasts

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Online Learning: Trauma and Resilience: A Journey Towards Healing with Dr. Kristen Albert and the Rev. Carla Christopher Wilson

While we know that the COVID-19 pandemic brought with it more than its fair share of uncertainty and trauma, so too did other conditions of 2020 – the economy, politics, isolation, and so much more.  Whether we realized it or not, many of us have experienced a degree of trauma resulting from the volatility, uncertainty, and complexity of this time.

In the first part of this two-part program, Trauma and Resilience: A Journey Towards Healing, you will explore how life has changed, what trauma looks like, and gain an understanding and awareness of how trauma shows up in our bodies and our behaviors.

In the second part of the program, you will learn what it takes to create safe and healthy spaces, and how to create space and conditions for resilience in your relationships, routines, and self-care.  Experience opportunities to engage in mindful and centering practices and centering prayer and create your vision and plan for taking care of yourself in traumatic times.

To learn more, please follow the link below

Online Learning: Trauma and Resilience: A Journey Towards Healing

More Spiritual Directors

Rev. Solveig Nilsen-Goodi

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Kyndall Rauthaus

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Christa Hesselink

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Allen Proctor

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Marsha Roscoe

Marsha is an assistant to the bishop for spiritual wellness, mission and communications and is founder of Breathing in Christ. Marsha has spent most of her working life helping others fall in love with Jesus over and over again. An ordained minister of the Evangelical Lutheran in America (ELCA), she has taught and ministered in areas of spiritual formation and missional outreach for nearly two decades.