Find out more about our Master of Divinity program.

Could you give us an overview of what you do?

My title is Director of Organizational Development for The Allender Center at 天美视频鈥攚hich, honestly, is really functioning like an Executive Pastor. I get to do leadership development for our staff at The Allender Center, creating consistent structures of communication, professional development, care, support. I鈥檓 also on faculty with The Allender Center, so I teach and work on the blog and podcast, as well as facilitating groups.

It鈥檚 interesting that all of those things鈥攆rom the relational to the technical to the administrative鈥攐ften fall under the role of pastor, too. Which raises another question: What does it mean to be a pastor?

I often joke that being a good pastor is just like being a good parent, but specifically in the realms of spiritual formation and identity development. When I think about a pastor, I think about someone who tells stories that help people locate themselves in a larger story. Both individually鈥斺�淲ho is God, and who are you?鈥� and collectively鈥斺�淲here have we come from, where are we now, where are we going?鈥� I think it鈥檚 about providing good care.

I often say that, vocationally and in my calling, I鈥檓 a pastor by orientation. I find that whether I鈥檓 working in a tea shop and serving people crepes and loose leaf tea, or working on an admissions team recruiting students to a graduate program.

I鈥檓 guessing the tea shop鈥檚 not hypothetical.

No, I worked at a loose leaf tea shop the year after I graduated from 天美视频.

Was there a period of finding it hard to identify as a pastor, since you weren鈥檛 in the traditional paid staff position at a church?

Two moments come to mind. First, I did not come to graduate school to become a pastor, even though I came to pursue an MDiv. I came from a tradition where women couldn鈥檛 be pastors, so I didn鈥檛 have much imagination for myself as a pastor. I came to 天美视频 because I thought I would be a professor. I knew I would do ministry, but I would maybe just do ministry through the academy. Then during my third year, Paul Steinke named me as a pastor. There was something about someone actually naming me pastor, inviting me to see that as part of my identity, that was really powerful.

And then, during our formational years at The Allender Center, there were some moments where we were in the midst of a lot of spiritual warfare and a lot of despair. I remember Dan was introducing me before the large group to teach, and he said, 鈥淩achael really is the pastor of The Allender Center.鈥� And as he said that, there was something that felt really true to me about that. It鈥檚 not a way I would necessarily have seen myself, but it was a way I was bringing myself in the midst of our team, calling us to remember who we are and who we鈥檙e called to be. So I felt like the unofficial pastor of The Allender Center, and then there鈥檚 the question of, what does it mean to be the pastor of a nonprofit? Is that sacrilegious?

It seems like there are layers: Something was going on inside you regarding your own identity and calling, but something else happens when others see that and name it. Why do you think that outward affirmation is so meaningful?

I think there鈥檚 something about anointing that is really important. We see that throughout the text, right? It鈥檚 something we鈥檙e meant for and made for: to have others bless aspects of our calling and identity and vocation. I think it鈥檚 why something like an ordination process holds so much meaning in the Church. There鈥檚 a way of anointing, honoring, and consecrating鈥攕etting apart a role. Though I think, at times in our culture, that setting apart means the role is elevated in a way that some people who have the esteem of pastor really abuse that power, and it creates this false dichotomy that people who are pastors or leaders in a ministry are actually doing ministry, not everyone else. That鈥檚 a really weak, thin theology, a really weak, thin missiology, a really weak, thin sense of what the Church actually is and how it functions.

This process of recognizing your pastoral gifting and embracing that and naming it true鈥攈ow has that journey clarified or refined how you understand calling?

I don鈥檛 see calling as being just connected to vocation. It鈥檚 far more expansive than that. It鈥檚 that sense of knowing that, no matter what I鈥檓 doing, it鈥檚 okay to bring these parts of myself.

And there is some mythology that calling is static, when I actually think it鈥檚 something that develops and grows and shifts. I think it does stay pretty consistent in its rootedness, but the fruit it bears can change in different seasons. So we always need to be growing and learning and have a posture of curiosity and a willingness to surrender to formational processes.

鈥淚 don鈥檛 see calling as being just connected to vocation. It鈥檚 far more expansive than that.鈥�

What would you say to somebody else who is recognizing aspects of their calling as a pastor, but also recognizing that it might come out in an unconventional context?

The more we know who we are, then we can make better decisions about where we want to give those parts of ourselves. Calling, again, is about more than vocation. Calling is about union, calling is about love鈥攊t鈥檚 always about love. So what are the really unique ways that you are equipped and gifted to love people and communities well? For some people, that will look like very traditional roles that have really clear boundaries, really clear definitions, and there鈥檚 nothing wrong with that. For others, it might mean you meander a bit, because there are certain skills you need to develop that go along with that calling. Some people might look at it and go, 鈥淥h, this is a real deviation from your calling,鈥� and I would say, 鈥淣o, I actually think it was preparing me to be more fully equipped for my calling.鈥�

So I would tell people, especially those who will find themselves in more unconventional spaces, we need healers and pastors and artists and therapists working in lots of different contexts. And it may not always look like the textbook. That doesn鈥檛 mean you鈥檙e not being faithful to live out your calling well.

Part of what we鈥檙e exploring is inspired by Barbara Brown Taylor鈥檚 language of your 鈥渁ltar in the world,鈥� and the idea that our work in the world is a form of worship. Do you want to say anything about that?

Oh, I really like that. I was just reading , and I love Paul鈥檚 language of living faithfully to what you鈥檝e been gifted鈥攁nd that鈥檚 going to look different for each person in different seasons, based on different giftings鈥攋ust be faithful to bring those gifts to the world in such a way that it is like a living sacrifice. I think we鈥檙e really scared of that word, sacrifice. And rightfully so鈥攖here鈥檚 been some theological and spiritual abuse that has used a word like sacrifice to maintain oppressive structures of power that are actually anti-Gospel. However, when we give of ourselves in a way that actually leads unto life, I think that鈥檚 that living sacrifice that Paul calls us to.

Learn more about our Master of Divinity program and how you can pursue your unique calling.

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The MA in Counseling Psychology with a Concentration in Trauma & Abuse, to be launched in Fall 2019, offers a unique specialization in Trauma-Informed Narrative Therapy, a modality that has been developed over decades of experience by Dr. Dan Allender and The Allender Center. Informed by research into neuroscience, shame, somatic psychotherapy, bodywork, and robust theology, Trauma-Informed Narrative Therapy is a therapeutic approach integrating in-depth story engagement and an awareness of trauma science through the lens of a dynamic Christian faith.

鈥淥ur mission is to train people to be competent in the study of text, soul, and culture to serve God and neighbor through transforming relationships. It鈥檚 not about studying as an end in itself; that call to service is at the heart of everything we do,鈥� says Dr. Derek McNeil, Acting President. 鈥淎s students develop more clarity about the specific realm of service they are called to, their education should become more focused as well. So this concentration will offer very particular training that hones the work students are already engaging through the Counseling Psychology program.鈥�

鈥淎s students develop more clarity about the specific realm of service they are called to, their education should become more focused as well.鈥�

This new concentration, the first of several being developed within our graduate degree programs, is emerging at a crucial time in our culture. We are surrounded every day by evidence of trauma and abuse鈥攊ncluding the heartbreaking revelations of widespread, systemic abuse in institutions; the rising tide of individual stories brought to light through the #MeToo movement; and the myriad ways that more subtle effects of trauma and abuse play out all around us. More than ever, our world is faced with an urgent need for well-trained practitioners who are equipped to address the complex realities of trauma as they help individuals and communities pursue healing.

Our Concentration in Trauma & Abuse will feature teaching informed by a broad range of theories and approaches, as well as experiential training in individual and group story work. Courses will be offered in a laboratory-style learning environment, combining theoretical learning with practical application. Clinical formation will be facilitated by 天美视频鈥檚 practitioner/scholar faculty, in tandem with immersive learning with The Allender Center. Through the integration of these methodologies, students will develop trauma-informed strategies for work in a variety of mental health settings and will be equipped to provide grounded, insightful, and attuned presence to traumatized clients.

鈥淭his concentration is for those willing to listen and attune to the pain and harm they have experienced in their own life. We can only take someone else as far as we have gone ourselves,鈥� says Abby Wong-Heffter, LMHC, Affiliate Faculty and Allender Center Teaching Staff. 鈥淔rom that foundation, we train wounded healers to help others understand and heal from the complex impacts of trauma and abuse by listening to the stories their body remembers and longs to tell the truth about.鈥�

The Concentration in Trauma & Abuse is designed to be completed concurrently with the MA in Counseling Psychology, and is composed of 70 credits: four concentration-specific credits, four required MACP electives, and two intensive offerings from The Allender Center. More information about the curriculum, application process, and goals for this new offering are available here.

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This gathering is the product of conversations over the past two years between The Impact Movement, 天美视频, and The Allender Center. We are forging a partnership to pool resources, experience, and expertise to address race and trauma more honestly and effectively. Collaborations of this nature鈥攎arked by rigorous dialogue, a collective commitment to the movement of God, and a shared sense of purpose鈥攁re essential to living out the Gospel in our divided era.

The trauma we seek to address is a collective trauma, one that intersects with personal trauma and compounds itself in a myriad ways in the particularities of our stories. Those served by our organizations鈥攚hether graduate students at 天美视频, practitioners and participants at The Allender Center, or college students being discipled and ministered to by The Impact Movement鈥攁re experiencing the effects of sexual, emotional, and physical trauma. And we hold the conviction that those traumas are intricately connected to the evils of racial trauma and the enduring prevalence of racism in America.

Race, Trauma, and the Gospel will invite leaders to move beyond soundbites and familiar, formulaic solutions as they engage in in-depth discussions about the realities of racial trauma, the fragmented nature of conversations about race in America, and the particular needs of the individuals and communities served by our organizations. These conversations are grounded in and informed by our shared hope in the redemptive nature of Jesus and our belief that the insights of Scripture can offer tools to help practitioners in serving their constituencies.

Given its crucial history as a site of both trenchant racial harm and defiant movements of justice, Montgomery is a fitting location for such an urgent gathering. In addition to the planned small group discussions, problem-solving workshops, and large group reflective conversations, event participants will travel together to sites that embody Montgomery鈥檚鈥攁nd our nation鈥檚鈥攕obering past and potent present, including the , the , and the , which Equal Justice Initiative created as 鈥渢he nation鈥檚 first memorial dedicated to the legacy of enslaved black people, people terrorized by lynching, African Americans humiliated by racial segregation and Jim Crow, and people of color burdened with contemporary presumptions of guilt and police violence.鈥�

We know it is all too easy to hold interesting, even cathartic conversations, then pat each other on the back and go back home without seeing any meaningful change. Instead, this gathering is intended to be far more than a conversation. Participants will listen to each other, challenge one another, and imagine together how a broader, ongoing partnership might strengthen what each organization offers to a culture that has been fractured and fragmented by racial trauma. Because in this post-Civil Rights era when the ideals of a multicultural society are under siege, any attempt to offer integrative education, healing from trauma, or holistic discipleship must not shy away from the reality of racism and the widespread, systemic, and generational harm that it wreaks.

Our prayer for this time is that conversations will be marked by honesty, insight, and courage; that the history which shaped Montgomery will clarify our own histories and shine a light on our present; that a deep sense of partnership and shared calling will thrive between organizations; that we will grow our understanding that no one is exempt from the impacts of collective trauma, and renew our courage to invite others around our country to re-energized participation in this vital work.

Will you join us in prayer for this gathering and for the necessary movement that will emerge from it?

While this initial gathering is closed to the public, we hope the conversations that unfold in Montgomery will open the door to an expanded partnership and additional opportunities to participate in the future.

Photo Credit: Equal Justice Initiative聽

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鈥淐athy has led The Allender Center for seven years of impact and growth,鈥� says Dr. Craig Detweiler, President of 天美视频. 鈥淎s we move into its next iteration, this new role frees Cathy to realize the vision and hope of The Allender Center, reflecting her function as Executive Director and articulating her role in executive leadership on behalf of our entire organization.鈥�

Prior to moving to Seattle, Loerzel worked in leadership development and process and change management with Price Waterhouse Coopers and IBM Consulting. While her current role draws heavily on her extensive business experience, her approach to business and style of leadership were radically altered by her time as a student at 天美视频. Her classes鈥攑articularly those with Dr. Dan Allender. 鈥淗e was speaking things that I always knew to be true in my heart but never had words for,鈥� she says. In contrast to the perfectionism and impenetrability that had been required of Loerzel in past business and personal contexts, her time at 天美视频 was stirring a deep desire to be seen, known, and impacted by others.

鈥淭here was a sense of power in my capacity to push my strength forward and lead from a place of strength,鈥� says Loerzel. 鈥淏ut at 天美视频 I was now given permission to lead from my most vulnerable parts, to be porous and impacted and soft. My assumption was that if I led from that place I would lose my power, but it was actually more powerful because I was able to show my humanness and to build a team around me when I didn鈥檛 know the answers and needed help.鈥�

After graduating, when Loerzel was invited to work in 天美视频鈥檚 events and conferences department, she realized that disrupting old styles of relating did not have to mean abandoning her gifting and expertise鈥攊t meant stepping into them in a new, more human way. 鈥淚 began learning to lead from a sort of 鈥榚xiled feminine,鈥欌�� says Loerzel, 鈥渋nstead of the false masculine persona I had been equipped with to lead in past contexts鈥攊ncluding the church context.鈥� For her first year on the job, Loerzel traveled around the country with Allender, sitting in audiences, listening to participants, and gathering data. The year culminated at a Recovery Week, where, says Loerzel, 鈥淚 had such radical revelations about my own stories and saw God in a way that I don鈥檛 think I had ever seen God before. At that point, given everything else I had seen, I was more certain than ever that there was something important here, something that can radically change people鈥檚 lives.鈥�

In the ensuing years, Loerzel began developing new conferences and worked to develop curriculum that elucidated Allender鈥檚 methodology in clear, accessible, replicable ways. These new offerings quickly gained traction, and Loerzel discovered the significant need for an organization that integrated story work, trauma studies, and Christian leadership in new ways. Loerzel wrote an official proposal and in 2011, alongside Dan and Becky Allender, co-founded The Allender Center.

鈥淚 was more certain than ever that there was something important here, something that can radically change people鈥檚 lives.鈥�

The Allender Center grew exponentially over the years, reaching thousands of people around the world with conferences, trainings, workshops, and online courses, and it became evident that, to help the organization flourish and meet the deep needs it had tapped into, it would need to become the primary focus of Loerzel鈥檚 vision and leadership. As 天美视频 worked to build new teams for marketing and events and to restructure its approach to donor relations, Loerzel has been empowered to bring the full breadth of her business expertise, personal experience, and vision to The Allender Center as Executive Vice President.

Loerzel continues to dream about The Allender Center鈥檚 growth and plan for its next era. A significant part of that growth has been building a vibrant team that can complement Loerzel鈥檚 leadership by stepping into her blind spots, tending to the daily functioning of the organization, and caring for its growing roster of leaders and facilitators. All of this means that Loerzel and her team are poised for what they refer to as 鈥淎llender Center 2.0鈥濃�攁n expanded vision that has grown out of both continued dreaming and the evolving needs around them.

鈥淭he culture has started to catch up with what we have already known to be true, which is that abuse and trauma are pervasive, that they dramatically impact who we are as people and what we are as a culture,鈥� says Loerzel. 鈥淲hen Dan entered the scene with The Wounded Heart 30 years ago, very few people were talking about abuse. He was radical. Now people are talking about it. And because we have been faithful in learning how to do good work with survivors and people who are wanting to address trauma in all its forms, we are now prepared to lean in and do this on a larger scale, to stay close to the work we have always done while we build a network of hope and find new ways to offer the most care to the most people.鈥�

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At the end of our two-week conference in Ethiopia, Becky and I and asked if we could wash the feet of the 40 Africans that had gathered to be trained in trauma care. Wonde, our generous Ethiopian guide, shook his head no. 鈥淚t will be too difficult to let three white people touch the feet of Africans.鈥� He explained that many from East and West Africa had seldom been touched by white missionaries. A westerner washing the feet of an African was unheard of. We asked if he would pray.

None of us felt heroic or radical in our request. It seemed like the only way to honor our friends as we departed. We understood that touching another person鈥檚 feet is somewhat unseemly and countercultural in any context, but the weight of what appeared on Wonde鈥檚 face was more than we could fathom. We waited, and the next day he said, 鈥淵es, but know that some may not come. For some, it is too intimate and for others too degrading to see you on your knees, touching their feet.鈥�

In our last evening together, we knelt and washed each person鈥檚 feet. Many wept. It may be one of the holiest hours I have spent on earth. The concrete dug into my knees. My body ached to stand, but I could not rise. Becky and Jan washed the women鈥檚 feet. I bathed the feet of the men. One man had been recently betrayed by an American mission board, his family and ministry left to die on the vine after countless promises had been violated.

Jan and Becky finished, and all but one man had come. I didn鈥檛 know what to do. To require him to come would have been another form of colonization. To get up and go on to the last of our teaching felt like a form of exclusion. I heard Jesus say: 鈥淧ut your head on the ground and pray.鈥�

To this day, I don鈥檛 know how long it took, but Jacob eventually came to the front and sat in front of me. I asked him, 鈥淢ay I wash your feet?鈥� He could barely look me in the eyes and he nodded, 鈥榶es.鈥� He confessed that he had come to hate white westerners. I confessed that my family had betrayed him, and I asked for his forgiveness.

What occurred next is too holy to describe and too intimate to reveal. I will only say, I have never encountered a moment before or since that felt as thin between this world and the unseen realm of heaven. I finished washing his feet and then he asked if he could wash mine. The privilege of touching his feet, weeping, and blessing him was august. To let him wash my feet felt terrifying. It all made sense, in an instant鈥擬aundy Thursday.

Peter refuses to let Jesus bow and wash his feet. Jesus tells him that unless one鈥檚 feet are clean, there is no entry into the kingdom of heaven.

5 After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples鈥� feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him. 6 He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, 鈥淟ord, are you going to wash my feet?鈥� 7 Jesus replied, 鈥淵ou do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.鈥� 8 鈥淣o,鈥� said Peter, 鈥測ou shall never wash my feet.鈥� Jesus answered, 鈥淯nless I wash you, you have no part with me.鈥� 9 鈥淭hen, Lord,鈥� Simon Peter replied, 鈥渘ot just my feet but my hands and my head as well!鈥� (John 13: 5-9)

Jacob washed my feet. My feet are bony, brittle, and weak. Countless bouts of gout have deformed my big toes. The hair on my toes became a taunt when pubescence wrenched me from childhood. The days鈥� heat built up layers of sweat and staunched my feet in a foul smell. He tenderly took my feet into the basin and looked me in the eyes as he spoke blessing over my undeserving life.

鈥淚t is a day to bear his touch before our lust, rage, and self-deception send him to the cross.鈥�

I met Jesus and he is from Burkina Faso. He is black. He is tender and bold. He kissed my feet when we were finished. We held each other and wept for what might be as long as the time from that moment until we are together in eternity.

And this is what Jesus is inviting you to today. Today is Maundy Thursday鈥攖he day before the crucifixion. It is a day to bear his touch before our lust, rage, and self-deception send him to the cross. The cross is not merely his alignment and solidarity with our suffering. It is that and far more. He bears the weight of all our idolatry and self-righteousness we refuse to own, and he takes it on to free us of a burden we couldn鈥檛 shoulder.

Before he takes our sin, he offers us his tender touch. Take and receive, feel your awkwardness and fury. You don鈥檛 need a full bath. You simply need to let him take up your feet and let the water of his love prepare you for the next three days.

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Amidst this season of celebration and transition, we look ahead with great expectation as we continue to live out our mission of training people to be competent in the study of text, soul, and culture in order to serve God and neighbor through transforming relationships.

Voices from the Community

天美视频 community recently gathered for the decommissioning and sending of Dr. Keith Anderson. During his time as president, Keith fathered us well as we matured in years of adolescence, helping us find our footing along the way. He shared the following about this season for the school:

Twenty years is considered a milestone in organizational life. It means you have achieved some level of maturity, organizational acumen, and financial agility. A little more than twenty years ago a bold group who called themselves 鈥渢he guild鈥� left Colorado with a dream for rigorous and creative theological education. 天美视频 of Theology & Psychology is the twenty year version of their dream. But this organization is more like a person on their way to young adulthood as often marked at one鈥檚 21st birthday. We like that image because it continues to anticipate the future with a clear mission, bold strategies, and a new band of intrepid dreamers who today make up 鈥渢he new guild.鈥�

Rachael Clinton聽(MDiv ’10), Assistant Director of Program Development & Admissions at , shared the following thoughts with faculty and staff who gathered together at the beginning of school year:

The dream of 天美视频 of Theology & Psychology began around a kitchen table, but throughout these past twenty years that dream has been held by a large and ever shifting collective of board members, leaders, faculty, staff, students, alumni, spouses, and families. In our mundane and extraordinary work we are all part of a larger whole, a holy mission, a labor of love. And it is our unapologetic declaration that in the midst of these mundane and extraordinary liturgies and rhythms, especially in seasons of transition, we are held together by a God who loves. As we face a significant transition in the year ahead, we will take time to honor the past, to celebrate the present, and to anticipate the future with faith, hope, and love.

, Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Academic Dean, will serve as Interim President as we anticipate the full the full welcoming of a new president in January. He noted the following about our 20th year and transitions:

I feel energized in this liminal space between what was and what will be. The 鈥渃oming of age鈥� analogy has made the most sense to me when it comes to this transition. Adolescents begin foreclosing on options and asking, What is my service to the world? As a school, we are asking this same question. What is our call to service? In the context of the larger social disruption in our nation, we need to be fully aware of what we have learned in our own disruption.

The birth of 天美视频 was a response to rigid postures and ways of seeing. Integration has been a focus for jarring that rigidity. We have taught for disruption, breaking up the hard earth. Now as a society in fragmentation, what is proving to be critical is formation and holding, not just transformation. Our formation is continual and can serve a fragmented society. We hold not tightly but with open hands the woundedness of our shared narrative.

The questions must be asked: How can we be salt? How can we still believe the purpose and mission of Jesus Christ without simply trying to squish things back together? How can we be unified in complexity? Specifically, can we really be a multiethnic nation? Can we as students, faculty, and staff cross boundaries for the sake of connecting? We start here, in the microcosm of this school.

A Few Fun Facts

• 4 names
• 3 locations
• 20 cohorts of students
• 19 graduating classes
• 1,160 alumni
• 877.5 pounds of Red Hot Tamales consumed
• 405 pounds of coffee brewed

Annual Report

When 天美视频 of Theology & Psychology started just about twenty years ago in the living rooms, kitchens, classrooms, and offices of people whose vision was pointed to the future. Did they imagine the legacy of more than 1,160 alumni? Of pastors, therapists, artists and leaders whose lives have been formed by classes, curriculum, mentoring, and the drama of learning? Did they believe their decisions made in 1997 would start a graduate school, a center for trauma and abuse, and, truthfully, a movement?

Our is a reminder of God鈥檚 presence in our story and the impact of 天美视频 of Theology & Psychology, , , and the Forum. This is our report on all those ordinary, repetitious, faithful, wise, flawed, surprising, failed, and impact things we鈥檝e been doing for the past year.

We hope you鈥檒l read, feel inspired, and join this movement of transforming relationships as we persist into the future.

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We invite you to share this video with others who have experienced trauma due to natural disasters across the country and across the world. We also invite you to listen to what the Spirit might have to say to you.

Highlights:

Dan: You need to be able to name the nature of trauma and the reality of what comes in the experience of trauma.

Rachael: We’re comfortable with songs of joy and rescue, and we can even handle songs of lament over our own sin because at least there we still have some volition. But to actually step into what this Psalmist is inviting us to takes a tremendous amount of courage, faith, and hope.

Rachael: Jesus was not unfamiliar with trauma鈥攏ot just emotional but physical trauma.

Dan: This is the season in which evil knows it can take great ground as you struggle with what you have endured.

Rachael: You need to be people who grow your capacity to let joy and sorrow be sisters in the same home.

Dan: Jesus literally walked us through the waters of death, and the promise is that death will not have the final word.

This video was originally posted on website.

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We are also aware that many of you have trained with us, which means you will be in the middle of not only understanding your own trauma from this storm but also the collective trauma your community has now suffered. As we all know, trauma is real and impacts our minds, bodies and spirits in unpredictable ways. We know you are all so capable to carrying the trauma of others as you seek to care for yourselves, your families and your community. We will pray that you will have the strength to admit when you need support and care. We trust it is not patronizing to say: be aware when you are operating in shock and pushing yourself far beyond what your body is meant to bear even if the calamity is worlds beyond what you have previously suffered.

We are desiring to stand with you as friends and colleagues. We are wanting to serve you in a way that is tangible and sustainable because your trauma is not going to dry up when the waters finally dissipate. We are in conversation about how we can coordinate our resources. We plan on inviting our team of leaders to make their time available and then coordinate with Chris Seay, pastor of , to figure out how to link our resources for your benefit during this challenging and traumatic season.

May Jesus bring rescue and blessing to you, dear friends.

With hope,

and
On behalf of and

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