Responding when Sacred Space is Violated

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Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 Laurie Kraus, David Holyan, and Bruce Wismer, Recovering From Un-Natural Disasters (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2017), 4.

2 Psalm 23:4, NRSV.

3 A good starting place is the National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (VOAD), https://www.nvoad.org/. Specific resources that are recommended are the VOAD Emotional and Spiritual Care Resource, https://www.nvoad.org/wp-content/uploads/Emotional-Spiritual-Care-Committee-Guide-to-Resources.pdf, and a downloadable book, Light Our Way, https://www.nvoad.org/wp-content/uploads/light_our_way_2018_final-published-copy.pdf, https://www.nvoad.org/wp-content/uploads/lightourway_spanish.pdf. See also the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), https://training.fema.gov/is/crslist.aspx?lang=en; Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), https://www.samhsa.gov/trauma-violence; and denominational resources such as Presbyterian Disaster Assistance (PDA), https://pda.pcusa.org/. Pastors and other faith leaders may find this video series by experts and pastors who experienced human caused disasters particularly helpful: http://pda.pcusa.org/pda/resource/Trauma-Pastoral-Care-Series/. Those who wish to take a deeper dive into understandings of trauma will want to consider the audiobook: Bessel A. Van Der Kolkk, The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind and Body in the Healing of Trauma (U.S.: Gildan Media, 2014); and Resmaa Menaken, My Grandmother’s Hands: Racialized Trauma and the Pathway to Mending our Hearts and Bodies (London: Penguin, 2021).

4 Kraus, xiv.

5 https://pda.pcusa.org/pda/resources/list/?type=congregational; https://www.ucc.org/what-we-do/wider-church-ministries/global-hope/disaster/.

6 Serene Jones, Trauma + Grace: Theology in a Ruptured World (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2019), 31.

7 Kraus, 135.

8 https://pda.pcusa.org/pda/resource/hymn-wind-rain/; https://www.svdpdisaster.org/parish-recovery-assistance-centers

9 Jones, 32.

10 https://www.nvoad.org/; https://www.catholiccharitiesusa.org/our-vision-and-ministry/disaster-relief/; https://ifoc.org/ifoc-disaster-response-team/.

11 Janet S. Peterman, Speaking to Silence: New Rites for Christian Worship and Healing (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2007); and https://pda.pcusa.org/pda/resource/Litany-for-Gods-people-in-times-of-distress/.

12 Presbyterian Disaster Assistance, https://pda.pcusa.org/site_media/media/uploads/pda/pdfs/building_resilience_webinar_final_handout_.pdf; and from other organizations: https://ifoc.org/ifoc-disaster-response-team/; https://www.nydis.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/NYDIS_Disaster_SC-MH_Manual-1.pdf.

13 Book of Common Worship (Westminster John Knox Press, 2018), 665 and 550.

14 Kraus, 1; see also http://pda.pcusa.org/pda/resource/Trauma-Pastoral-Care-Series/.

15 Kraus, 17.

16 Kimberly Wagner, Fractured Ground: Preaching in the Wake of Mass Trauma (Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 2023), 53.

17 Kraus, 31.

18 Some examples include FEMA’s Independent Study 360 - Planning for Mass Casualty Incidents: A Guide for Schools, Higher Education and Houses of Worship, https://training.fema.gov/is/courseoverview.aspx?code=IS-360; Mitigating Attacks on Houses of Worship Security Guide: A DHS Guidebook for both thinking about the security of Houses of Worship and achieving a security plan best suited to the unique circumstances of every community, https://www.cisa.gov/publication/mitigating-attacks-houses-worship-security-guide.

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Notes on contributors

Kathy Riley

Kathy Riley is an ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church (USA) who serves on the National Presbyterian Disaster Assistance staff as Associate for Emotional and Spiritual Care. She served as a transitional pastor in seven congregations prior to joining the PDA staff. Kathy has responded to natural and human caused disasters.