Leadership and Spiritual Life Newsletter
April 2021
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How's your spirit growing?
Explore PrairieFire
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Open House!
Tuesday, May 25, 2021, from 6-7 PM
Do you desire a more meaningful life enriched by a deepening spiritual awareness, new ways of building and contributing to community, or living authentically in an increasingly challenging and unpredictable world? Consider applying for PrairieFire. A new cohort will start in the fall of 2021, and we are accepting applications. Please contact Andrea Severson with questions or to register for the open house:
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Chris's blog: What is faith?
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What is faith? I have heard faith described as “believing things you don’t really believe.” I’ve also heard faith defined as “believing things you cannot ultimately prove.” I like the latter better than the former. Still, it misses a bit of the point of faith to me. It seems to me faith is not primarily about believing beliefs. Beliefs matter. By this I mean core beliefs. Beliefs that relate to ultimate meeting and our relationships with God, creation, each other, and our selves. Still, faith is more than belief -- it is about actions. It is about investing ourselves, being vulnerable, and taking risks. Faith is not a passive act of believing beliefs but a courageous act of risking ourselves based on those beliefs. |
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On the Brink:
A Group for Religious Professionals Transitioning into Retirement
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Retiring from active religious and spiritual leadership evokes many emotions–dread, joy, fear, anxiety, excitement…Questions arise: “How will I find meaning and purpose?” “What is my call now?” “How do I adapt to all of the changes that aging brings?” “How do I share my spiritual gifts while maintaining healthy boundaries?”
Utilizing Parker Palmer’s book, “On the Brink of Everything: Grace, Gravity and Getting Old”, clergy approaching retirement, or recently retired, will gather four times to support one another by exploring the existential challenges retirement brings.
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Pastoral Care Specialist Program |
This two-year course is designed for clergy, parish nurses, Stephen ministers, chaplains and others involved in pastoral care ministries. Meeting monthly, participants learn about areas critical to effective pastoral care, and receive support, encouragement and consultation on their work. Participants will reinforce what they already do well and integrate new knowledge and skills into their ministries.
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Virtual Clergy Pods:
Clergy Leading and Learning Together!
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This is a challenging time to be a religious leader. Clergy and congregations have been pressed to adapt and create new ways of caring and staying connected. At the same time, the level of anxiety of nearly everyone around them has been amped up to eleven!
Yes, this is a difficult time. However, there is no need to keep pushing ahead alone.
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Don’t “do a survey”. . . get a CAT!
Does your congregation want to know essential and reliable information to make the right decisions?
Don’t “do a survey.” Get a CAT!
The insight from the Congregation Assessment Tool (CAT) gives congregations the “big picture” of what is happening as well as guidance about where to spend more, or less, time and energy. It also helps leaders discern between “growing pains” and the seeds of unhealthy conflict.
The CAT assesses the overall health and vitality of congregations, to:
- measure the level of community satisfaction and energy
- identify the critical success factors for improving organizational climate
- envision the future
- gauge readiness for change
- uncover potential resources
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Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction
live online
Summer 2021 MBSR Course Registration is open.
Being fully present in the moment and cultivating awareness can build stress resiliency and positively impact your everyday life. Learn to access and reinforce your natural capacity to actively care for yourself and others around you.
Wednesday evenings:
Orientation: Wed 6/2 6:00-7:30PM
June 9-July 28: 6:00-8:30PM
CEUs for mental health therapists, clergy and teachers in Iowa.
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Support group for survivors of suicide loss - live online
If you've lost a loved one to suicide and need support, please contact Andrea Severson at aseverson@dmpcc.org.
This support group is offered on the third Tuesday of the month as a free community service, with thanks to generous supporters of the Des Moines Pastoral Counseling Center.
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Supervision for Spiritual Directors |
The Des Moines Pastoral Counseling Center is pleased to support spiritual directors in our community by offering individual spiritual direction supervision services. All of the spiritual directors on our staff have participated in supervision training and are available for supervision and consultation.
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Start your healing process today.
Life can be stressful. If you are struggling to cope, or the symptoms of your stress or anxiety won’t go away, it could affect your health. Click below to begin the intake process and see a counselor who can help.
The Des Moines Pastoral Counseling Center is offering secure, HIPAA compliant virtual mental health services through telehealth. Our clinicians are trained and prepared to provide high quality counseling, psychiatry and spiritual direction — which you may access from your home or other place of quarantine.
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John Swinton: Helping Christians with mental health issues starts with better language |
Those with severe mental health issues are often misunderstood by people of faith, but churches have a responsibility to listen to and see each person as a person, says a professor and author.
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Leadership and Spiritual Life Services |
The Des Moines Pastoral Counseling Center’s Leadership and Spiritual Life programs offer opportunities for individuals, faith communities, pastors, professionals and others who seek Spiritual enrichment, such as
- PrairieFire
- Professional development
- Clergy and congregational consultation
- Suicide awareness, prevention and support group
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Your partner in hope and healing,
Chris Waddle, M.Div.
Director of Leadership and Spiritual Life
Des Moines Pastoral Counseling Center
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