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After decades of silence, church leaders and congregations have begun accompanying people who mourn losing children before or soon after birth or letting go of dreams to form a family.
People experiencing infertility often suffer in silence. African Americans experience more infertility than other racial groups. But churches can offer healing when they open the door for conversations and include these sorrows in worship.
Both church planters and established congregations can explore spiritual histories of their church neighborhoods. This helps them better communicate the gospel in the places where God calls them to serve.
This topic showcase highlights resources to help churches use trauma-informed practices in church worship and congregational life. Faith communities are more effective when they become more aware of adverse childhood experiences, collective trauma, and other tragedy.
Churches decide to include people with disabilities when they realize God sees us all as equals and all as differently abled. LaTonya McIver Penny advocates for inclusive worship, especially in African American congregations.
Congregations often want to get information from members and neighbors. They can learn how to do so pastorally by considering how scholars do academic research using human subjects. Scholars follow ethical standards to gain data while doing no harm.
It is impossible to become more like Jesus on your own. A new book offers five ways to recognize how the same Spirit who worked in Jesus’ life can shape us to be more Christlike.
Four congregations in Durham, North Carolina, discovered that planning worship, learning, and reflecting together helped them be better witnesses in their East Durham neighborhood.
Most pastors realize that people come to church with deep fears, sorrows, and concerns that often remain unexpressed in worship. But because Mount Aery Baptist Church has worked to become a trauma-informed congregation, its worship services are becoming a communal place of healing.
Many congregations suspect they need to change but don’t know how. Tim Shapiro’s book describes eight steps that healthy congregations can take to learn together. These learning journey stages have parallels to elements of Christian worship.
Christian leaders, especially pastors, sometimes feel bad about the gap between their ideal of Christlike ministry and the reality. Pastor Mandy Smith explains that honestly accepting vulnerabilities and human limitations makes room for God’s strength to be revealed in people and congregations.
Clergy and other church leaders called to engage trauma must also practice self-care, or they will burn out and be less effective in helping those who need to address and heal from trauma. These tips help congregants as well, relieving pressure on clergy and church leaders.
