Spiritual Care as Resistance: Christian Nationalism, White Supremacy, and the Rise of Authoritarianism – Rev. Dr. Pamela Cooper-White, PhD

Rev. Dr. Pamela Cooper-White, PhD, is Dean/Vice President for Academic Affairs Emerita, and the Christiane Brooks Johnson Professor Emerita of Psychology and Religion at Union Theological Seminary, New York. She has published 10 books and over 100 anthology chapters and articles. Book titles include Old and Dirty Gods: Religion, Antisemitism and the Origins of Psychoanalysis; Many Voices: Pastoral Psychotherapy in Relational and Theological Perspective; Shared Wisdom: Use of the Self in Pastoral Care and Counseling; and The Cry of Tamar: Violence against Women and the Church’s Response. She is Past President of the IASC, and has served as Co-Chair of the Psychology, Culture and Religion unit of the American Academy of Religion, and as Editor of the Journal of Pastoral Theology. Rev. Cooper-White is an Episcopal priest, licensed and board-certified clinical counselor, and psychoanalytically trained pastoral psychotherapist, and has lectured frequently in the U.S. and internationally.

The Fierce Urgency of Now: Radical Faith, Anarchic Care, and Resistance – Prof. Dr. Ryan LaMothe

Ryan LaMothe, PhD, is Professor of Pastoral Care and Counseling. Over the last 30 years, he has published over 200 articles and book reviews, as well as 14 books. These publications address topics in psychoanalysis, psychology of religion, pastoral counseling, pastoral theology, and political pastoral theology; among them: A Political Psychoanalysis for the Anthropocene Age; Pastoral Care in the Anthropocene Age; Care of Souls, Care of Polis; Pastoral Reflections on Global Citizenship; A Radical Political Theology for the Anthropocene Age; Peril, Perseverance, & Perversion: Pastoral Reflections on Masculinity. Professor LaMothe has lectured at universities in the U.S., Europe and Asia. In 2017 he received the Springer Publishing Award, “Transforming the World One Article at a Time.” In 2022 he gave the Jacob Neumann Lecture at Princeton Theological Seminary. He has served on three editorial boards of peer-reviewed journals and served as President of the Society for Pastoral Theology.

A scholar, teacher and ordained minister in the United Church of Christ, Rev. Dr. Stephanie M. Crumpton is the Associate Professor of Practical Theology at McCormick Theological Seminary where she is also the director of the Trauma Healing Initiative.  She leads THI’s mission to cultivate a community of learners and educators who take their knowledge, experience and practical skills for trauma informed and healing centered restoration into communities dealing with the impact of trauma. Her work on trauma began in 2006 with doctoral research on Black women’s experiences of intimate and cultural violence, which culminated in her book, A Womanist Pastoral Theology Against Intimate and Cultural Violence.  Her forthcoming book, We Gon’ Be Alright: Black Healing and Resistance in Movement Spaces, 2012-2021 invites readers to learn from African American social justice activists and organizers about how to heal while resisting injustice.  A third book is in process about the gift of thriving in the face of trauma. Rev. Dr. Crumpton is an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ.

Rev. Jill L. Snodgrass, Ph.D. is Professor of Theology and Chair of the Department of Theology at Loyola University Maryland. She is a pastoral-practical theologian, a scholar-activist, and an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ. Dr. Snodgrass has served as a pastoral counselor in churches, shelters, transitional housing facilities, and community centers.  Her research focuses on spiritual care and counseling with traditionally marginalized populations, as documented in her book, Women Leaving Prison: Justice-seeking Spiritual Support for Female Returning Citizens. She recently co-authored Moral Injury After Abortion: Exploring the Psychospiritual Impact on Catholic Women; edited The Art of Spiritual Care Across Religious Difference; and co-edited Reframing Trauma: A Psychospiritual Theory and Theology.

Dr. Nazila Isgandarova, M.S.W., D. Min., Ph.D, was born and raised in Azerbaijan. She is an Associate Professor and Director of the Supervised Psychospiritual Education program at Emmanuel College of Victoria University in the University of Toronto. As a Registered Psychotherapist and Social Worker in Ontario, she is a prominent voice in Islamic spiritual care and psychotherapy, Islamic practical theology and interfaith collaboration.  Dr. Isgandarova has received several awards for her research, including the Ontario Government’s Champion for Diversity, the Order of Vaughan, the Forum for Theological Exploration and the Canadian Association for Spiritual Care Senior Research Award. Her main publications include Muslim Women, Domestic Violence, and Psychotherapy, Islamic Spiritual Care: Theory and Practices, and Mindfulness Techniques and Practices in Islamic Psychotherapy: The Power of Muraqabah.

AI and Spiritual Care in the context of Resistance to Present Socio-cultural
and Political Reality

presented by: Rev. Dr. Kirk A. Bingaman

Understanding, Resisting and Healing Religious Trauma

presented by: Rev. Dr. Brooke Petersen

In a place where there are no people, strive to be a person

presented by: Rabbi Mychal B. Springer

Mature Empathy in the Face of Gender-based Violence: Empowering
the Marginalized in Faith Communities

presented by: Dr. Sung Hyun Lee

Faith Communities Working with Migrants:
Legal and Pastoral Issues and Responses

presented by: Rev. Dr. Wilmer Estrada Carrasquillo

From Tradition to Practice and Back: An Islamic Perspective
on Spiritual Care as Resistance

presented by: Dr. Mahmoud Abdallah

Resistance and Surrender. Human Duty and Divine Embrace

presented by: Rev. Dr. Georg Wenz

Jewish Wisdom: Creating Health Together

presented by: Rachel Fox-Ettun, MA

Spiritual Care Givers in Times of Occupation, Injustice, and Cruelty

presented by: Rev. Imad Haddad