COVID-19 Spiritual Care & Resources

STILL HARBOR’s COVID-19 PROGRAMS:

FROM OUR COMMUNITY & BEYOND:

One-on-One Spiritual Accompaniment
>>> With Caroline

Spiritual accompaniment and counseling services in this time when the world is experiencing a global health crisis. Caroline primarily works with people who feel alone and anxious; people who feel disconnected from their sense of purpose; and people who are interested in practicing true self-love.

About Caroline: Caroline was born in Rwanda, where she currently resides. Her educational background is in agriculture sciences and global health delivery. She was trained as a spiritual accompaniment fellow and a counsellor. For the last seven years, she has been working in the development and philanthropy sector in East Africa.

Peer Spiritual Care for Essential Workers & Anyone Impacted by the COVID-19 Pandemic
>>> With James Mannion

Spiritual Accompaniment
James is available to listen and to be present to your experience as you grapple with this moment of crisis: whether you wish to process your emotions, to reflect on spiritual questions, or just to have a conversation during this time of social distancing.

Group Spiritual Care
James is also available to facilitate group spiritual care sessions if you are reaching out on behalf of members of your community.

About James: James is a facilitator whose background includes Still Harbor’s Group Facilitation Immersion training. He is both a Buddhist and a Catholic and is currently attending Union Theological Seminary in NYC, where he is an MDiv student in Buddhism and Interreligious Engagement. James is enthusiastic about connecting with people of all backgrounds and those with any or no spiritual affiliation.

Spiritual Accompaniment for Healthcare Providers
>>> With Chloe McElyea

Chloe is offering 30 minute spiritual accompaniment sessions to hold space and deep listening for healthcare providers in the months of April and May.

About Chloe: Originally from California, Chloe completed her Master of Divinity at Boston University and a spiritual direction practicum from Still Harbor in 2018. She has completed 5 units of Clinical Pastoral Education, 4 of those at UC Davis Medical Center in Sacramento, where she accompanied people of all/ no faith traditions. She is currently working with youth to launch an artisan bread ministry at a church in Sacramento, and has a deep love of the spiritual practices of bread making and farming.

Spiritual Accompaniment for College Students and/or Health Care, Food & Frontline Workers
>>> With Eva Englert-Jessen

Holding virtual space for listening and placing in a "container" the stress and impact of being a student and/or a food or health care worker in the midst of Covid-19. I hope to be someone who journeys alongside and helps point to the ever-present internal wisdom and spiritual/mental resources of folks who sit with me.

About Eva: Eva is an (almost) ordained Deacon in the Methodist Church, passionate about the intersections of faith and social justice. Her work and call is deeply linked to setting the table, hospitality, and creating spaces for discerning vocation and a common call to justice and peacemaking. Eva worked as a hospital chaplain for a bit, and learned so much from her brief but meaningful experience simply offering an attentive heart and ear to staff. She is also passionate about (via writing, podcasting, amaetur baking/cooking) food and thinking especially of food workers during this time.

Trauma Response & Crisis Care for Movements>>> With Many (Still Harbor Alum Lydia Strand is an Organizer)

Request Community Care:
This form is specifically for community members in the United States (and beyond) who are struggling (as so many of us are) during this moment and could use a listening ear to check-in with individually or in community groups.

Become a Community Care Provider:
This form is specifically for healing care providers across disciplines as well as willing community members with any background in facilitating peer support who are willing to be a listening ear, to create space to check-in, and to offer supportive care for community members around the United States (and beyond) during this stressful time which is bringing relational, financial, spiritual, and emotional stressors on us as a national and global community. We will be prioritizing (but not limiting) support for organizers, activists, and marginalized community members.

Spiritual Coaching and/or Pastoral Psychotherapy
>>> with Rev. Dr. Michelle A. Walsh, PhD, LICSW

Michelle currently specializes in working solely on-line via Zoom video and in companioning human service providers, inclusive of therapists, clergy, and activists, in visioning new paths and practices of spiritual meaning-making in these challenging times. Her approach is that of a facilitator of growth and development for transformational living on a personal and professional level, particularly on behalf of those committed to social justice. She is trauma-informed in her practice and is a Unitarian Universalist clergy person as well as a clinical social worker. She is trained as a Level II Internal Family Systems practitioner as well as a spiritual director for individuals or groups.

Spiritual Accompaniment For EDUCATORS and/or Book Group
>>> With Michael Templeton

Book Group:
“The Inner Work of Racial Justice: Healing Ourselves and Transforming Our Communities Through Mindfulness”
A group focusing on addressing racial injustice through the practice of embodied mindfulness.

Spiritual Accompaniment for Educators:
A safe and open space for practicing educators to engage with the intersection between their professional selves and their spiritual selves.

About Michael: Michael is a career educator and pastoral minister fiercely committed to learning, teaching & leading for social justice. Michael currently lives in Cranston, RI and serves as a public school principal, graduate school professor and church musician.

Wednesday Evening Vespers
>>> With Mandy Neff

Wednesdays 8pm through at least April 29, 2020.
Join us for a brief service of readings, sharing around a wisdom question, breathing practice and song on Wednesday evenings at 8pm. The service is designed for adults, with a focus on Parents and Caregivers, but all are welcome. This is a virtual Zoom offering.

About Mandy: Mandy Neff is the Director of Religious Education for First Parish in Cambridge, a Unitarian Universalist congregation, and a Spiritual Director certified by Still Harbor. Her practices include foraging in nature, excavating archetypes from today's stories, meditation, and art journaling. She is the author of 2 curricula and serves as the Vice President of New England LREDA.

Spiritual Accompaniment For Spiritual but not Religious
>>> With Casey Fox

Casey is offering free spiritual direction sessions to folks who may be seeking additional support during the current covid-19 pandemic. Recognizing that times of crisis can be both acutely anxiety-provoking and valuable catalysts for exploration and change, sessions aim to create a space to explore topics including fear, stress, uncertainty, purpose and meaning. Sessions are open to folks from any or no spiritual or religious practice. Meetings are typically held monthly for 45-60 minutes, and can be conducted via zoom, like everything these days :).

About Casey: After spending almost a decade in the global health nonprofit world, Casey recently returned to nursing school with the goal of providing community-centered, trauma-informed care. She has extensive experience as a peer counselor and support group leader focusing on the impact of trauma, and brings this lens to her work as a secular spiritual director. She completed Still Harbor's Spiritual Direction Practicum in 2019, and enjoys working at the intersection of social justice, trauma and spiritual care.

Coaching through uncertainty: seeing chaos, managing loss, and creating.
FOr South Asian (Desi); LGBTQI+; Black, Indigenous, and People of Color
>>> with Fahad (he/him/they/them)

Coaching
1:1 or group coaching sessions that become spaces for you to just be and honor the different voices parts of you: the voice that helps you get out of bed, the inner critic that is also yours, the voice of trauma, the sound of hope. Through intentional questions and exercises, explore and navigate the uncertainty you may be facing.

Your Intentional Commute
Our commutes signaled a transition in our day and an opportunity for grounding at the beginning and end of our day. While we're sheltering-in-place, we've lost that daily ceremony. For those still going to work, the commute can be even more stressful than ever.

There's an invitation to a virtual gathering where we'll intentionally mark transitions out of the “work” day or a transition from one moment to the next. Join us every weekday through the month of May at 4:30 pm Central Time for 30minutes of reflection and connection. The specific format varies from call to call -- it has ranged from Tarot card readings to using poetry and song to ground to body scans and Metta meditation. However, each call focuses on reflection and connection with self.

When: Mon-Fri, 430pm CT for 30mins
Where: Click this link to access regular calendar invites or dial +13126266799,,78316236728#
How often: Up to you. Join us once, twice, or everyday

We're keeping it audio-only to minimize screen time and build connection with self. If possible, be somewhere that is kind to your body, whether that's laying in bed, sitting on a meditation cushion, or going for a walk (don't forget your mask!). 

About Fahad: Fahad is a poet, designer, facilitator, and creative strategist. Fahad's work is focused on facilitating dialogue amongst and between communities, and creating new experiences. Fahad is an immigrant who proudly calls Houston home. Fahad enjoys poetry, coffee, dancing, and spending time with their two nephews.

Spiritual Direction, Healing Circles for South Asian Women
>>> With Shrestha Singh

Social justice and anti-oppression-based spiritual accompaniment // circles for south asian women to discuss their cultural experiences with love, relationships, race, sex, sexuality, and more.

About Strestha: Shrestha is a spiritual director, therapist in-training, facilitator, storyteller, and social justice advocate. She earned a Master of Divinity degree from Harvard Divinity School, trained in social justice-focused spiritual accompaniment with Still Harbor, and has served as a University Chaplain at both Wellesley College and Brandeis University. Currently, she is working toward her Master of Social Work (MSW) degree at Loyola University Chicago, with specializations in Mental Health and Migration Studies. Her work is at the intersections of spirituality, social justice, and healing from trauma.

Cross Making for Holy Week and Beyond (Open to Children, too!)
>>> With Jill Seiler-Moon

A guided audio and visual presentation of cross making, using only found and discarded materials easily available in your home. We'll be co-creating with, and led by Spirit to find meaning and deeper connections with our faith and spiritual presence. Open to children and adults. Find details here.

About Jill: Jill is a graduate of Still Harbor's Spiritual Direction practicum and offers Spiritual Accompaniment, SoulCollage workshops, and Cross-Making workshops. Her ministries as Episcopal Church Parish Administrator, Lay Eucharistic Minister, Alzheimer's Advocate, and Occupational Therapy Practitioner keep her ever mindful of the need for shared healing ministries.

Various Reflection & Support Groups
>>> with Allison Coffelt

Poetry in Pandemic
Poetry can help us listen through the noise. It can help us distill and refill. It can connect us with something deeper, something truer—a side of ourselves that may be drowned out. In this session, we’ll read some poems and connect about them. No literature degree required. One 90-minute session to be held within next 2-3 weeks. Email for inquiries (event page forthcoming).

Hope in the Dark: Group Discussion for Organizers, Activists, Medical Providers
“Hope,” Rebecca Solnit writes, “is an axe you break down doors with in an emergency.” In these group conversations, we’ll start there. How do organizers, activists, and medical providers keep swinging their axe in times of great stress? What doors do we break down, even when it feels the house around us is on fire? Email for inquiries (event page forthcoming).

Healing for Healthcare Providers
Allison Coffelt, MA and Britt Hultgren, MD
As medical professionals in the US, we can feel like we’re cogs in a big, for-profit machine. And now, in the face of a global pandemic, many of us feel like we’re putting our lives at risk unnecessarily. What can we do to spiritually heal—ourselves, each other, and our patients—right now? Rather than seeing people as volume or a dollar sign, how can we see the humanity in one another? Email for inquiries (event page forthcoming).

About Allison: Allison is the award-winning author of Maps Are Lines We Draw: A Road Trip through Haiti (Lanternfish Press 2018), which explores colonialism, connection, and how we construct a sense of “here” and “there.” Her work has appeared in the Los Angeles Review of Books, Hippocampus, KBIA-FM, and elsewhere. Visit allisoncoffelt.com to learn more.

Spiritual Accompaniment for Business Executives
>>> With Perry Carrison

Business & spirituality often seem to have opposite values and purposes. Perry Carrison works with executives who want to use their current situation, even if it’s being a CEO or SVP, as their spiritual classroom.

About Perry: Perry Carrison has been an executive coach since 1990. He has worked as a spiritual director since 2015. His clients range from World Bank to Discovery Channel to teenagers trying to discern their career path. His questions are his gift. He uses them as searchlights in his clients' minds. Those questions and your answers reveal what you're doing and why.

Makerspace Coach
for LGBTQ Folks, young adult, retirement age adultS, emerging artists
>>> With Caroline Hunter

Companionship in creative exploration of how your experience of “home” is evolving, exploring: how can you adopt practices of making that provide agency in the spaces you call your own? Available in 45 min to an hour session via zoom, Facebook messenger, or (time limit n/a for this one) email.

About Caroline: Caroline is a 34 year old woman trained in spiritual direction and group facilitation. Practicing Episcopalian, LGBTQ, work during the day in tech and communications. Excited to connect with creative spiritual seekers and growing humans of all kinds!

Spiritual Accompaniment for Young People & Women
>>> with Jen Nahas

Provide 1:1 spiritual accompaniment for those interested in digging deep into where the Divine/Beauty/God fits into their lives. Specializes in working with emerging adults to discern their calling and women who are creating an authentic and vibrant post-career life.

About Jen: For twenty-five years, Jen worked to address issues of justice and equity in the field of college access, in the hopes that all students, regardless of race, gender, ethnicity, disability and identity, would receive a fair and equitable education. Currently, she works with clients one to one as well as run workshops/retreats that connect people to the natural world through long distance walking or pilgrimages. Having completed several long-distance pilgrimages, including the Camino de Santiago, she believes in the wisdom passed down from St. Augustine, who observed, “solvitor ambulando” … “it is solved by walking.” She is eager to help people experience the wonders and healing that come from being out on the trail.

Spiritual Accompaniment & Group Reflection
>>> With Rev. Patricia Hatch

Two Free Forty-Minute Sessions of Spiritual Accompaniment
Two free sessions of spiritual accompaniment via Zoom or phone call. This offer is especially for you if you are experiencing some crisis, transition, upheaval or grief in your life. And all are welcome. Limited to the first five people who respond in April. You can contact Patricia at rev.patriciahatch[at]gmail.com.

"Finding Hope in Poetry" Facilitated Discussion and Sharing
We will meet over Zoom or Facebook for approximately an hour and share poems that give us hope. These could be poems you know or poems you've written. Everyone is encouraged to share a poem, however you could simply listen in if you prefer. This discussion is open to anyone who finds hope in poetry or who would like to find hope in poetry. Limit of ten people. Will be scheduled for a Sunday afternoon in late April. You can contact Patricia at rev.patriciahatch[at]gmail.com.

About Patricia: Rev. Patricia Hatch is an ordained Unitarian minister. Rev. Patricia is experienced with working with people of all faiths (including those who have no particular faith tradition). As well as having a Master of Divinity from Boston University, she has been trained as a spiritual director and group facilitator through Still Harbor.

Supportive listening, clarifying conversation, spiritual direction For Health Care Workers
>>> with Flora Pirquet

Compassionate listening and accompaniment via phone or text for health care workers.

About Flora: As a compassionate listener & retired health care provider, trained in spiritual direction, Flora would like to offer you an open ear and non-judgmental support during this stressful time.

Spiritual Direction
>>> With Christopher Greene

Christopher’s spiritual direction practice is very practical and involved. He offers Spiritual Direction focusing on themes of mysticism, self-enquiry, and religious surveying for methods of intentional and conscious spiritual experience. This perspective will pay attention to the struggle and adventure of reconciling religious traditions and practices for personal experience valuing experimentation and ones own discernment. No topic is too far-out, fringe, or controversial to explore: inclusivity of experience is the moto!

About Christopher: Christopher is currently in the 2019-2020 cohort of Still Harbor's Spiritual Direction Practicum. He graduated from Boston University with an M.Div. in Theological Studies, focusing on Religion & the Academy and with a B.S. in Psych from UMass Amherst focusing on Positive Psychology, Neuroscience, and Behavior. He has been most impacted spiritually by his studies abroad in Nepal in Hindu+Buddhist Sacred Art and Philosophy, his research and personal quests into mentalism, magical arts, entheogens, mysticism, and his experiences as a severe stutterer, athlete, and musician.

Spiritual Accompaniment for Health Care Workers, Healers, and other Essential Workers
>>> With Katherine Pater

Offering free spiritual accompaniment sessions and meditation instruction for health care workers, chaplains, healers, and any other essential workers (including grocery store employees, delivery drivers, and mail carriers) during the COVID-19 crisis.

About Katherine: Katherine is an ordained Presbyterian (PCUSA) pastor who is participating in the Spiritual Direction practicum with Still Harbor. Her academic and theological training is centered in the Christian tradition, but she offers accompaniment to people of any (or no) faith tradition.

Three free sessions of Spiritual Companionship
>>> With Diane Lauber

An offering of one-on-one accompaniment to explore what is unfolding in your life right now, free in these months of the pandemic.  This is a place for curiosity and compassion, to delve into challenges and wonderings.

About Diane: Diane has completed the practicum in Spiritual Direction at Still Harbor. Her three legged spiritual platform is Christian and Buddhist and Earth-loving, and she is happy to work with those from any or no tradition.