Episode Notes

This is Episode number 3, titled: “A Way in the Wilderness” discussing Chapters 3 and 4 of the book “Trauma Stewardship: An Everyday Guide to Caring for Self, While Caring for Others” by Laura van Dernoot Lipsky.  Our guest host is Kristee Trumbo, a Licensed Professional Counselor who brings her perspective to the process of mapping our response to Trauma Response.  Kristee’s clinical perspective helps us get into the meat of this book, after we’ve recognized that caregivers can be recipients of secondary trauma, Kristee helps us walk through the 16 Warning Signs of Trauma Exposure Response.  It’s easy to feel lost in the wilderness of trauma, but there are indeed landmarks that may look familiar, and help us find our way in the wilderness.  Concluding with a reflection on Luke 4:1-15 we look at a time where Jesus navigates the wilderness himself, and find that often the way forward is not always the easy way, but the faithful way.  But the hope we find in this is that Jesus has navigated this wilderness, and walks with each of us, wherever we’re walking. Things to be curious about:  What of these 16 warning signs do you want to learn more about? Who is in the wilderness with you, who is a trusted voice in the wilderness?  What are the shortcuts that are available to you, what paths are ahead of you?

We’d like to encourage you to discuss these questions with a conversation partner, whatever you’re comfortable sharing, you’re invited to share your reflections in the comments section of our Muhlenberg Lutheran Facebook page, Instagram @MuhlenbergLC, or on YouTube.  Thank you, for gathering with us today around the Wellspring, we’re looking forward to another episode next week! Learn more about our congregation online, or by joining us for worship each Sunday at 8:30 and 11:00am Eastern Standard Time, with the 11:00 service streamed live on Facebook and YouTube.  You financial support of the ministry of Muhlenberg makes the many ministries, including digital ones like this, possible for our community.  You can make your gifts online at www.muhlenberglutheran.org/give (http://www.muhlenberglutheran.org/give)

Episode 2: The Communal "Yes, And..."

This is Episode number 2, titled: “The Communal Yes, And…” Discussing Chapters 1 and 2 of the book “Trauma Stewardship: An Everyday Guide to Caring for Self, While Caring for Others” by Laura van Dernoot Lipsky, our guest host is Ashley Saunders. Ashley brings years of experience in Community Organizing and Advocacy on behalf of Transgender Kids in her community to a conversation on the reality of a life that is both joy and pain. We reflect on the nature of Trauma Stewardship as a lifelong practice that is demanding, yet deeply rewarding.  Ashely offers her reflections on the radical gift of intentionally cultivating joy, even in the midst of trauma.  But this kind of thing can’t happen alone, we need community around us. Concluding with a reflection on John 20:19-29, we find a moment in scripture when the community of disciples found both the very real pain of fear that bound them in the upper room, and the true joy of Christ’s peace in their midst. It matters that in this scene, Jesus still bears the wounds of the world, thus drawing the disciples to meet Him in the wounds of the world around them. This communal “yes, and…” speaks to the nature of a world that is inherently messy, complicated, beautiful, and beloved.  Just like you.

Questions for Discussion: A question of balance... How do you invite joy in your life? How do you hold pain? What wounds of the world/wounds of Christ are you being called to witness to?

We’d like to encourage you to discuss these questions with a conversation partner, whatever you’re comfortable sharing, you’re invited to share your reflections in the comments section of our Muhlenberg Lutheran Facebook page, Instagram @MuhlenbergLC, or on YouTube.  Thank you, for gathering with us today around the Wellspring, we’re looking forward to another episode next week!

Learn more about our congregation online, or by joining us for worship each Sunday at 8:30 and 11:00am Eastern Standard Time, with the 11:00 service streamed live on Facebook and YouTube.  You financial support of the ministry of Muhlenberg makes the many ministries, including digital ones like this, possible for our community.  You can make your gifts online at www.muhlenberglutheran.org/give.

Episode Notes

This is Episode number 1, titled: “We’re All Traumatized”.  This is the first episode EVER for this podcast, and more importantly  the first episode in our study on the book “Trauma Stewardship: An Every Day Guide to Caring for Self, While Caring for Others” by Laura van Dernoot Lipsky.  Today’s episode covers the introduction of the book, where we discuss the importance of this particular conversation around trauma, and how in a post-pandemic world, the relevance of Trauma Stewardship has a greater importance than ever before; not just for those in historically caring professions, but for Christians and all people who hope to bring a caring and compassionate presence to the world around us.  Pairing this introduction with a study of Luke 8:26-39, when Jesus encounters the Gerasene Demoniac, we’ll conclude with some questions for reflection about what exactly we’re carrying with us.  Hopefully we’ll discover that this humble admission that “we’re all traumatized” will allow each of us to find freedom in which we can care for ourselves and then care for others.

Questions for discussion: As we wrap up our time here today, I’d like to offer a few questions for reflection:  How have you changed?  We make the case in this episode today that everyone is traumatized, that everyone has changed since 2020.  How have you changed in these years? What are you carrying with you, and like the Gerasene Demoniac, how has that left you feeling isolated? What was your cliffside moment?  If you’ve had one, what was the moment you realized that things have affected you? What would freedom look like for you in letting go of the pain of others that you may be carrying?

We’d like to encourage you to discuss these questions with a conversation partner, whatever you’re comfortable sharing, you’re invited to share your reflections in the comments section of our Muhlenberg Lutheran Facebook page, Instagram @MuhlenbergLC, or on YouTube.  Thank you, for gathering with us today around the Wellspring, we’re looking forward to another episode next week!

Learn more about our congregation online, or by joining us for worship each Sunday at 8:30 and 11:00am Eastern Standard Time, with the 11:00 service streamed live on Facebook and YouTube.  You financial support of the ministry of Muhlenberg makes the many ministries, including digital ones like this, possible for our community.  You can make your gifts online at www.muhlenberglutheran.org/give.