Healing Shattered Lives

Trauma and Grief Associated with Violent Death

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About the Conference
Increasingly in our times, it seems like the incident of death associated with or due to violence is on the rise, not just in war zones, but also in homes and neighborhoods across America. Increasingly religious professionals are called upon to minister to persons and families in bereavement, where the loss is related to violence. So the question before us is, how is the grief associated with violent death different from the more “normal” dynamics of bereavement that we have been accustomed to and trained in as clergy? One of the leading experts on the grief associated with violent death, Edward Reynearson, author of Retelling Violent Death, will be with us, to help us think through this issue. Herbert Anderson, long time AAPC teacher and mentor, will help us reflect theologically on the use of rituals in a healing ministry.

On Friday evening, Margaret Kornfeld will launch our theme for the weekend with some personal reflections. All of this rich engagement will be augmented by plenty of fellowship, conversation and interaction with colleagues and friends.

About the Speakers


E. K. Rynearson, M.D.,
is a clinical professor of psychiatry at the University of Washington Department of Psychiatry and the medical director of the Homicide Support Project at Virginia Mason Medical
Center in Seattle, Washington.
For over 20 years, Dr. Rynearson has maintained a particular clinical and research
focus on the effects of violent death on family members. He has published his findings and clinical experience in professional papers, book chapters, and two books entitled Retelling Violent Death and Violent Death: Resilience and Intervention Beyond the Crisis.

Since his retirement from full–time practice, he has conducted numerous national and international trainings on the management of the clinical effects of violent death. In addition, with grant support he has founded a non–profit organization, the Violent Death Bereavement Society, with its own internet site (bdbs.org) to establish an informative network for service providers, teachers, and reserarchers of violent death.

Dr. Rynearson lives on Puget Sound, where he rows each dawn in his rowing scull (weather and tide permitting) and almost always sees a seal or an eagle.

Herbert Anderson, Ph.D.,
is currently Research Professor of Practical Theology at Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary in Berkeley where he is also “first man” to his wife, Phyllis Anderson, who is President of the same institution. In his role as “first man,” Herb cooks dinners for donors, seeks to create a hospitable gathering
place for students and faculty and visiting friends. Herb has been a life long teacher, mentor and supervisor of students in pastoral care and counseling, having taught at Princeton, Wartburg, Catholic Theological Union, Seattle University and Yale Divinity School. Dr. Anderson is the author and coauthor of over 90 articles and 13 books on topics, such as death and grief, family living, ritual
and narrative, empathy, leaving home and living alone, men’s spirituality, suicide, and sense and nonsense in the wisdom of Dr. Seuss. All of our Losses, All of Our Griefs, coauthored with Kenneth Mitchell, is generally regarded as a classic in grief literature.

Margaret Kornfeld, D.Min.,
is past President of the American Association of Pastoral Counselors, recently retired to the Bay Area from a practice in New York City and longtime supervisor and teacher at Blanton-Peale Graduate Institute. She is the author of Cultivating Wholeness.

Conference Information


Location
The conference is located on the campus of San Francisco Theological Seminary, north of San Francisco, in beautiful Marin County. We will be staying on campus. You are invited to come early or stay until Sunday, so you can enjoy the many opportunities for recreation and renewal in the area.

Lodging
For attendees staying overnight, accommodations will be in Baird Hall, the continuing education dorm on the campus of SFTS. Double occupancy will be the norm unless otherwise arranged.

Meals
Friday evening through Saturday lunch—will be provided on campus.
Make a Weekend of It—Explore the lovely 23–acre campus on the edge of coastal redwoods and national seashore and the culturally rich San Francisco Bay Area. Extend your stay to Sunday noon by adding Saturday lodging to your registration.

Resource Table and Book Faire
We will have a free resource table available on site where you can share business cards and literature with your peers. We will also have a mini book faire, featuring books by our presenters and AAPC authors.

Early Bird Special
If you register by September 15, you will receive a complementary copy of Dr. Rynearson’s book, Retelling Violent Death. So make your plans now! Take advantage of this free gift from one of the leading authorities on trauma and violent death.