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Many urban pastors deal with trauma. Some preach without benefit of pay or formal training. This Baptist church gathered its associate ministers monthly to learn about trauma and exegete Scripture to engage people hungry for healing and justice.
Ten African American churches in Texas are focusing on helping youth understand and heal from trauma. This knowledge helps adults become more aware of their own trauma and is changing worship practices.
Becoming a trauma-informed congregation means helping people learn, talk, and grieve about what happened to them. Worship can provide a safe space for people to nurture trusting relationships and accept God's healing grace.
These video excerpts come from a conversation between Douglas J. Brouwer and John D. Witvliet at the annual Calvin Institute of Christian Worship— CICW—grants colloquium in June 2019.
Oakdale Community Choir in Coralville, Iowa, meets in the prison where half its members live. Church choirs and congregations can learn from the principles and practices that make this choir so life-giving. It focuses as much on relationships and potential as on music.
2019 Calvin Symposium on Worship | Workshop
2019 Calvin Symposium on Worship | Workshop
2019 Calvin Symposium on Worship | Workshop
2019 Calvin Symposium on Worship | Workshop
2019 Calvin Symposium on Worship | Seminar
2019 Calvin Symposium on Worship | Service of the Word
You may think of pastoral care mainly as personal visits to someone’s hospital room or home. But Howard Vanderwell wrote that the entire worship service has “powerful potential for caring for worshipers’ needs.” His book Caring Worship: Helping Worship Leaders Provide Pastoral Care through the Liturgy explains how.
