Lea Schrumpf, Director of Pastoral Care at Purdue Christian Campus House, discusses how we can enter our stories with compassion and kindness. They explore the transformative power of story work and therapy, highlight God's compassionate presence in stories, and provide valuable resources on trauma and marriage. The chapter also includes discussions on emotional experiences during the Super Bowl.
Engaging in story work can lead to healing, integration, and transformation as individuals partner with the Holy Spirit.
Using compassionate and restorative language when engaging with people's stories creates contexts for healing, transformation, and partnership with the Holy Spirit.
Cultivating compassion and curiosity in engaging with personal and collective stories is essential for personal transformation and developing empathy and compassion for others.
Deep dives
Leah Schrom's Journey into Trauma Care and Story Work
Leah Schrom, the director of pastoral care at Purdue Christian Campus House, shares her experiences and curiosity about trauma, leading her to pursue certificates in narrative-focused trauma care. She discusses her shift from college ministry to intergenerational church and her dream of opening a space for retreats and care. Leah highlights the Allender Center, an organization that offers workshops, intensives, and online courses to help engage personal stories and learn to engage the stories of others. She emphasizes the importance of looking at stories with kindness, compassion, and curiosity.
Understanding Story Work and Its Impact
Leah delves into the concept of story work, highlighting its focus on looking at personal stories with particularity and engaging with attuned listeners and wise guides. She explains how trauma and harm shape our beliefs, relationships, and experiences and lead to fragmentation. By engaging in story work, individuals can seek healing, integration, and transformation as they partner with the Holy Spirit. Leah emphasizes that story work is meant to look for the goodness that can emerge from places of harm and bring about love, restoration, and redemption.
Compassionate and Curious Language in Healing
Leah emphasizes the importance of using compassionate, empathetic, and restorative language when engaging with people's stories. She draws parallels to how Jesus approached individuals with kindness, curiosity, and compassion, meeting them in their places of shame, harm, and need. Leah encourages cultivating a posture that resembles Jesus in engaging with others, holding space to listen, learn, and see people as valuable individuals in need of attunement and connection. She highlights the power of compassionate language in creating contexts for healing, transformation, and partnership with the Holy Spirit.
Recommended Resources for Trauma Care and Healing
Leah shares several valuable resources in the field of trauma care and healing. She recommends the Allender Center, which offers workshops, intensives, online courses, podcasts, and trainings focused on engaging personal stories and learning to engage the stories of others. Leah also suggests exploring books like 'The Body Keeps the Score' by Bessel van der Kolk and 'My Grandmother's Hands' by Resmaa Menakem. Additionally, she mentions the Reconnect Marriage Podcast and provides the contact information for her work at Purdue Christian Campus House.
Final Thoughts on Compassion, Transformation, and Healing
Leah reflects on the importance of cultivating compassion and curiosity in engaging with personal and collective stories. She acknowledges the significance of personal transformation and highlights the need to journey through one's own stories of harm and fragility to develop empathy and compassion for others. Leah emphasizes the role of the Holy Spirit in bringing healing, redemption, and love to individuals and communities, encouraging active participation in partnership with God's work of mercy and justice in the world.
Marty Solomon and Brent Billings are joined by Lea Schrumpf, Director of Pastoral Care at Purdue Christian Campus House, to discuss how we are shaped by harm, but how we are created for delight and honor, and how we can enter our stories with compassion and kindness.
