KATHERINE WIEBE, MDIV, PSYD, PHD
  • Home
  • About
  • Blog

Recovering from Un-Natural Disasters

2/21/2017

0 Comments

 
Picture
I first met Revs. Drs. Laurie Kraus and Bruce Wismer almost ten years ago when they responded to a fatal domestic violence incident at a church I was serving as the Director of Congregational Care. Before meeting them, I only vaguely knew of our denomination's disaster response team as the "hurricane people." Like many pastors, I had little idea that members of Presbyterian Disaster Assistance's National Response Team deployed to many other types of incidents, including "un-natural" or "human-caused" disasters. About a year later, I attended a discernment retreat to explore the possibility of joining the team, which is where I met Rev. Dr. David Holyan. He, too, was discerning joining the team, and he too had survived a human-caused disaster when a man shot several people across the street from his church, in front of the local court house. One of the victims was the husband of his church's director for Christian Education. 

Over the years, Kraus, Wismer, Holyan and I have worked together to assess congregational impacts of trauma, identify best practices for emotional and spiritual care of individual and corporate bodies, and highlight effective faith-based and community-based collaborations. We continue to work and volunteer with Presbyterian Disaster Assistance, and Bruce also serves as the chair of the board for the Institute for Congregational Trauma and Growth. 

Recently, it was an honor to contribute chapters to this joint project, Recovering from Un-Natural Disaster: a guide for pastors and congregations after violence and trauma. You'll find this hand-held guide to be a very practical and accessible resource, with examples of incidents, tips for caring for children, youth, and adults, personal care tips for faith leaders, and templates for planning worship and community response. 

Order your copy here. 

0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Author

    Notes on the Bible, faith, community, and congregational care. 

    Archives

    December 2020
    May 2019
    August 2018
    September 2017
    July 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017

    Categories

    All
    Acts 09
    Colossians 03
    First Thessalonians 05
    Genesis 04
    Genesis 11
    Genesis 12
    Genesis 13
    Genesis 14
    Genesis 15
    Genesis 16
    Genesis 17
    Genesis 18
    Genesis 34
    Isaiah 06
    John 03
    John 04
    John 11
    Lamentations 03
    Leviticus 19
    Luke 01
    Luke 24
    Malachi 03
    Mark 05
    Mark 10
    Matthew 01
    Matthew 04
    Matthew 05
    Matthew 19
    Numbers 21
    Psalm 04
    Psalm 148
    Romans 07

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
  • Home
  • About
  • Blog