People define their spirituality, faith, and religion as being a process involving growth, addressing existential questions about meaning and sense in life, life satisfaction, well-being, a sense of purpose, hope, and optimism. During the COVID-19 pandemic, individuals and communities have started to explore more personal and collective connections with spiritual, faith, and religious resources as coping mechanisms. They seem to be a potential antidote that minimizes the consequences of anxiety, depression, and any other mental or physical stress caused during the coronavirus crisis.
In this context, the proposed panel and conversation series on spirituality, faith, and religion: creating a time and space for connection, wellness, and hope can be a tool for healthcare professionals, patients, family, and communities to reconnect with themselves, provide the most comprehensive care possible, benefit from spiritual practice, build social support, and share stories of hope and resilience.
Our community conversation series will offer comfort and safe space through structured and innovative conversation focusing on spiritual beliefs and coping. Activities facilitate verbal expression and appropriate social interaction and build a sense of belonging. We discuss activities and themes from these webinars within a recovery-oriented “emotion-focused coping” framework. A faith community member will lead this series.
Moderator: Thomas Burr, Community and Affiliate Relations Manager, NAMI Connecticut
Panelists for June 24th, 2021
Reverend Hiram L. Brett
Rev. Brett, the spiritual care coordinator and chaplain at Connecticut Mental Health Center (CMHC) in New Haven, serves as a chaplain in the Bridgeport Hospital emergency room. Before joining CMHC, Rev. Brett served as pastor of Whitneyville United Church of Christ in Hamden, Connecticut. A graduate of Yale Divinity School (MDiv) and Stanford University (MBA), Rev. Brett completed his residency in clinical pastoral education at Yale New Haven Hospital. He has completed International Federal Levels 1 and 2 coach training and is working toward professional coach certification.
Rabbi Randall (Randy) Konigsburg
Senior Rabbi, Beth Sholom B’nai Israel, Manchester, Connecticut
For almost 40 years, Rabbi Konigsburg has been a spiritual leader and pastor in congregations in Florida, Minnesota, Alabama, and Connecticut. He graduated from the Jewish Theological Seminary (JTS) in New York City with ordination and a master’s degree in rabbinic literature. He has worked as a hospital and police chaplain, as a rabbi for hospice, and as a rabbi for teens on the March of The Living, an educational history tour of holocaust sites in Poland. He has trained in pastoral crisis intervention, education, cancer care, and substance abuse. He received an honorary doctorate from JTS for his work in the Jewish community. Rabbi Konigsburg tries to find time for nature photography.
Benjamin (Ben) Doolittle, MD, MA Div
Rev. Dr. Benjamin Doolittle is a local church pastor and a physician. He is an associate professor of internal medicine and of pediatrics at Yale Medical School and an associate professor of religion and health at Yale Divinity School. He directs the Yale Program for Medicine, Spirituality, and Religion as well as the Combined Internal Medicine-Pediatrics Residency Program.
Pastor Anthony (Tony) C. Martin
Congregation: Trinity Baptist Church
Pastor Martin is worship director at Trinity Baptist Church in Arlington, Massachusetts, and regional worship leader at the American Baptist Churches of Massachusetts. He holds a master of science and a bachelor of arts degrees in music and political science from the University of Massachusetts Boston (UMass Boston). He is the director of the UMass Boston chapter of My Brother’s Keeper. Launched by President Barack Obama in 2014, the My Brother’s Keeper initiative works to address persistent opportunity gaps faced by boys and young men of color and to ensure that all young people can reach their full potential.
