The Power of Community: Healing the Wounded Heart, Part One

This week, Dan is joined by Cathy Loerzel and Rachael Clinton. The three discuss the importance of community in the healing process and reflect upon ways in which community has benefited past “semester tribe” participants in our Healing the Wounded Heart online course. They take time to review three specific groups of people who would benefit from this kind of collective experience and outline what participants gain as a result of hearing others’ stories and letting their own stories be known.

Dan begins with the central question of this episode: Why do we need a community to work through healing in regard to abuse?

Rachael: To know you’re not alone and to be with a group of people who are invested in the work provides fresh wind in your sails.

Cathy: If evil uses abuse, one of the main places it does it’s work is when people are in isolation. Community works against what evil is trying to do.

Dan: Hearing other stories allows me to see my own story more clearly.

Dan explains that The Allender Center has created an online course and an opportunity to join a community with which you can move through the course.

He asks: Who should consider joining this collective?

Dan: First, it is the person who has been abused. There are so many people who don’t understand the full effect trauma has had on their lives.

Cathy: Another group are those who have already done a lot of work concerning the abuse they have experienced but want to re-engage their experience with others who have suffered.

Dan: I have a desire to see spouses, friends, and those in relationships with others who have experienced sexual abuse join us so that they can know how to better love.

Rachael: Another group are leaders who are working with others who have experienced abuse.

Dan asks: What are we hoping people will gain from the course and the tribe experience?

Dan: First, we want people to gain clarity around abuse and shame.

Cathy: The second thing we want you to receive is comfort as others are able to care for you. I was overwhelmed by how comforting the participants have been to one another, especially in the Facebook group.

Comfort in the face of abuse is exactly what evil doesn’t want you to have because comfort changes the human heart in a way little else can. – Cathy Loerzel

Rachael: The third hope is that you would be able to retell your story in a truthful way.

When you understand the reasons behind your addictive processes, they start to lose their power. – Rachael Clinton

Dan explains that when The Allender Center first offered Healing the Wounded Heart, many found it difficult to proceed beyond the first couple lessons. It was important to add a way to see others around you moving forward.

Cathy: So much of our western way of being is pushing us toward isolation and ignoring where we have had harm. It is powerful to have a collective group around you.

We all need a witness to our suffering with a promise that somehow redemption will come. – Dan Allender

We are kicking off another cohort group October 16. We are offering a $50 discount to podcast listeners (valid through October 10). When you register, simply use the code TRIBEPODCAST.