One of the greatest privileges of the work that I do...

 

One of my favorite parts—one of the greatest privileges—of the work that I do are the live spiritual abuse workshops that I'm able to lead.

In the past two and a half years now since I started leading them, probably close to 200 people have been through them. It's been a wide range of people, a wide diversity of ages, of professions, from several different countries. I've had many different vocations. And it's been such an honor to meet and briefly, in the five weeks of a workshop, get to know the people who've attended.

The workshop is one of my favorite things in part because I'm able to show up as a teacher and I love teaching. I get to show up as a catechist. I get to speak about the Church's teaching on human dignity and freedom and conscience And I get to show up as one who accompanies.

The best part about the workshop is being able to hear people's stories. Hear people wrestle with watch people wrestle with some really challenging things. See people make connections, the experience of finally having words to describe an experience, words that have been elusive for so long for an experience so painful or, or so important in their life. Seeing people and sharing with each other realize that they're not alone in what they've experienced, that there are other people who know what that's like, and can relate to them in that way.

In these workshops, I've worked with church leaders who, lay and religious and ordained who really care about their communities and the spaces that they're in and want to protect them from spiritual coercion and abuse of conscience. And seeing how often that desire to safeguard comes from their own experiences of spiritual abuse and abuse of conscience in their past.

It's a really heavy topic. Spiritual abuse is a really heavy topic to talk about. And yet there is something deeply good about being able to talk about it in a space with others. With people who are striving to engage with reality as it is, even when that reality is painful. Who are striving to understand their family, the Church, the People of God, their brothers and sisters in the Church better, even when that family has failed and continues to fail in really terrible ways.

Leading this workshop has brought me so much life because I've been able to encounter people who want to engage with what's true. I've encountered people with such tremendous courage to face what's true. I've encountered people who have been willing to grieve and to get angry over the injustices that they've experienced and that others have experienced in the Church. I've encountered Christ through the conversations and relationships from these workshops.

If you're interested in understanding some of your past experiences of spiritual abuse, abuse of conscience, of coercion. If you are a leader in the Church and want to better safeguard your community against spiritual coercion. If you're a parent who wants to raise your kids with freer consciences than what you were raised with from the Catholic or Christian culture you were in or the family of origin you came from. If you're a mental health professional or a spiritual director who accompanies others who've experienced spiritual abuse, and you wan to be more equipped to help them and support them. This workshop may be a great resource, a great opportunity for you.

If this is something you're interested in participating in, my next round of workshops begins on October 26th and is going to run for five consecutive Mondays from 7:00 to 9:00 in the evening, Eastern Time.

There's still a few spots available You can visit catholicthirdspace.com and pinned at the top is more information about the workshop I'd love if you could join me.