Anxiety, depression, and exhaustion are at record highs, even among committed Christians. We both see daily: I pastor a 300 member multigenerational congregation, and Susan is a trauma psychotherapist who has counseled thousands, including pastors, leaders, and attenders ages 14-100. Since the pandemic, we’ve ministered to a growing number of believers who are active in church life yet are emotionally burned out, physically stuck in trauma-driven fight-or-flight patterns, and spiritually weary - leading to congregational lethargy.
We believe part of the problem lies in theological assumptions—echoes of ancient Gnosticism—that minimize the body, emphasize “escaping” this world for heaven, and divide life into sacred and secular. Yet the New Testament offers a fuller vision. God redeems body, mind, and spirit; the Christian hope includes bodily resurrection and renewal of all creation. Scripture also calls believers to love God with heart, mind, soul, and strength—an integrated call that engages the whole person. Too often, discipleship focuses only on the “spiritual,” neglecting emotional and physical health.
Our project asks: How can congregations reclaim a holistic vision of Christian life? To explore this, we will spend 4 weeks in the U.K.—twp each at Belmont Abbey and the Harnhill Centre of Christian Healing—researching embodied worship traditions at these sacred places and at local historic sites. We will also immerse ourselves in prayer, silence, and creative practices such as poetry, journaling, painting, music, movement, and ancient embodied prayer postures.
From these experiences, we will develop a sermon series, pilgrimage reflection guide, spiritual practices toolkit, and creative response exercises for use in congregations and integrated healing retreats, and make them available online for churches and therapists.