Article via Religion News Service
NEW YORK — HEALING THE HEALERS, a new documentary series, launches today through ODYSSEY IMPACT. Comprised of five 15-minute documentaries, this new resource showcases intimate conversations between faith leaders who have experienced mass trauma events in their communities and congregations.
These conversations are guided by Rev. Matt Crebbin, the Senior Pastor of Newtown Congregational Church, in Newtown, CT. Crebbin, along with the other faith-leaders in Newtown, were called upon for healing, support, and guidance after one of the worst mass-shootings in U.S. history occurred at Sandy Hook Elementary School, just two miles from his church.
These pastors immediately responded to the needs of their communities, all while experiencing the same mental, emotional, and spiritual trauma as their congregations. For the past two years, Crebbin has reflected on his experience and studied the long-term effects of trauma on faith leaders. In this series, he begins by asking the question ‘who heals the healers?’, and focuses on issues including self-care, self-awareness, pastoral roles, impact on the families of faith leaders, living with continual community trauma, re-traumatization from other mass violence, questions of faith in light of evil, creating trauma-informed ministries. Crebbin also shares his personal lessons learned after 6 years of what he calls ‘new wisdom.’
