Embodied

Get Your Tickets

Saturday, April 5th, 9:00am-4:00pm

Seventh and James Baptist Church

$25 | Lunch Provided

Engaging with Marginalized Traumas to Improve Ministry and Practice

Learn to compassionately and creatively make sacred space for trauma survivors.

Hear their stories, learn from their wounds, and walk away with the tools to participate in others’ healing.

We are offering particular attention to the following traumas:

Queerness and the Church

Resilience after Domestic Violence

Loss, Racism, and Mental Health

THE DAY OF

What You Can Expect

9:00-9:30 Registration and Welcome (plus breakfast pastries!)

9:30-10:15 An Introduction: Trauma and Why It Matters

10:30-11:15 Geneece Goerzten | Domestic Violence: Betrayal and Resilience

11:30-12:15 Trent Clifford | Authentic Welcome: Queerness and the Church

12:30-1:30 Lunch

(it will be delicious, we promise; plus, gluten free and vegan options)

1:30-2:15 Bianca Smith | Racism, Mental Health, and Community Care

2:30-3:15 A Panel Conversation + Q&A

3:30-4:00 Wrap Up: Where To Go From Here

Become Part of the Conversation

Embodied Resilience
with Geneece Goertzen
10:30-11:15

Many survivors struggle to find a path to resilience after abuse. Sadly, many have lost family, friends, and even their faith community after disclosing domestic violence to their faith communities. Faith communities can be a vital source of hope, healing, and support for survivors of domestic violence. We can liberate the oppressed. We have an opportunity to create justice, nurture relationships, and serve the wounded as together we embody resilience. Creating safe churches benefits everyone.

Embodied Theology
with Trent Clifford
11:30-12:15

We the Queer community have long been battered by theology. They’re called ‘clobber passages’ for a reason. Healing, however, doesn’t come from defense. Our time together won’t be spent defending the LGBTQ+ community’s belonging in the Church. For once, we’re going to assume that’s a given. But in a world where that’s a given, how do we embody a theology of authentic welcome, even celebration, when those we’re welcoming and celebrating have so long been hurt by the very theology we’re seeking to embody?

Embodied Solidarity
with Bianca Smith
1:30-2:15

Let’s delve into the profound ways traumatic experiences wound the body, examining how marginalization within the Church can inadvertently re-trigger and deepen these wounds. This conversation will challenge us to move beyond dismissing or fixing, and embrace a posture of embodied solidarity, sharing in the experiences of those who have been marginalized. Ultimately, we will equip the body of Christ with practical, trauma-informed strategies to build a church that fosters healing, not further harm, and cultivates genuine, embodied presence with those who have experienced trauma's lingering effects on mental and spiritual health.

Meet the Team

The three creative minds behind this project

Geneece Goertzen

Rev. Geneece Goertzen, LMSW/MDiv, is a PhD candidate at the Garland School of Social Work at Baylor University, and a Research Fellow for the Center for Church and Community Impact. She has taught numerous workshops on domestic violence, serves on the board of directors for the Family Abuse Center, has testified before the state legislature on bills that affect victims and survivors, and served on the public policy committee for the Texas Council on Family Violence. Her two books, Taking it Seriously and Never Ever After both focus on responses to abuse, and her dissertation looks specifically at how the church has responded to this topic. As a survivor of more than two decades of domestic violence, she is passionate about awareness, advocacy, and conducting continued research on this topic.

Trent Clifford

Trent Clifford, MDiv, is the author of Reclaiming Faith: Learning to Reimagine Church, God, and Ourselves. He is a highly sought after speaker and workshoppist, working with organizations and congregations to more creatively engage with spirituality in ways that are life-giving and trauma-informed. As a queer man and a survivor of domestic violence, he is particularly interested in the intersection of spirituality and identity, and the way that those things shape one another. In addition to being a practical theologian, he is also a working artist. He is a playwright whose plays have been produced across the country, and he is the founder and Artistic Director of Wild Imaginings, a professional theatre company in Waco, TX, that specializes in the development of new work - specifically new work that speaks to issues of diversity, social justice, and community.

Bianca Smith

Bianca Smith is a Psychotherapist, Adjunct Professor, and PhD student at the Garland School of Social Work at Baylor University. She has attended and facilitated mental health trainings domestically and internationally. Her approach is holistic, trauma-informed, and strength-based. Bianca's brother was murdered, a victim of a hate-crime, and she has a particular interest in race-based health disparities and mental health treatment for those overlooked and underserved. Bianca self-published a book entitled Murdered by a Christian on a Sunday, and her dissertation research aims to explore the impact of community supervision on health.

TICKETS HERE