Mental Health & Wellness Webinars and Online Training

Bishop Eaton message on suicide prevention

A message from ELCA Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton on suicide prevention. More resources can be found on the Lutheran Suicide Prevention Ministry website.

April 2024 Lunch and Learn Series:

The Eight Sensory Systems and How They Impact Learning and Behavior 

    Speaker: Tia Gamelin is a mother of four and has over 27 years of experience working as a pediatric occupational therapist in the US and abroad. She is a certified clinical specialist in ADHD. Previously, Tia has worked in the pediatric inpatient and outpatient settings, early intervention, home health, and private clinic. Tia is a graduate of Lenoir-Rhyne University in North Carolina. Tia is a board member of COAEYC, a member of the AOTA and has been board certified by the NBCOT since 1997. She has coached a number of Occupational Therapists who have gone on to own their own practices and become champions of innovative therapeutic practices.

    March 2024 Lunch and Learn Series:

    A TRANSFORMATIONAL JOURNEY: A SYSTEMS APPROACH TO ADDICTION AND RELATED MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES.

    Speaker: Drew Brooks has been the Executive Director of Faith Partners since 2011, a non-profit organization established in 1995 providing leadership, training, and consultation to educate clergy and help develop congregational prevention and recovery support team ministries. He has worked in the prevention, treatment, and public health fields for over 40 years providing training and consultation nationally. He has helped author four curricula and has served on a number of organizational boards and advisory councils. He has also been involved in congregational lay leadership with music, youth, caring, small group and addiction ministries.

    April 2023 Lunch and Learn Series:

    Trauma, Ministry, and Faith in these Challenging Times

    Speaker: The Rev. Dr. Kimberly Wagner serves as the Assistant Professor of Preaching at Princeton Theological Seminary. Though she has served among the Lutherans and was educated among United Methodists, Dr. Wagner is ordained as a Minister of Word and Sacrament in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). Her current writing and work focus on preaching and ministry in the midst and wake of trauma, particularly thinking about collective trauma, the role of the preacher, and the resources of our Scriptures and faith to respond to these.

    MARCH 2023 Lunch and Learn Series:

    SpIrituality and Aging

    Speaker: Pastor Ruth Sorenson, Director of Spiritual Care at Lyngblomsten and Spiritual Director with Front Porch Spiritual Direction, will be with us to talk about spirituality and aging. What role does, or can, faith play in the second half of our lives? If aging is a catalyst for spiritual growth, what and where are the opportunities to tend to the Spirit’s nudging?

    February 2023 Lunch and Learn Series:

    The Eight Dimensions of Wellness: How to Develop and Maintain a Wellness Plan

    Speaker: Kelly Felton is a Suicide Prevention Coordinator with the Minnesota Department of Health and previously provided training and technical assistance, under supervision from the Minnesota Department of Human Services to local communities working on substance abuse prevention in West Central, Minnesota. Ms. Felton has a passion for empowering community leaders, organizations, and communities to ensure that all individuals have what they need to thrive.

    January 2023 Lunch and Learn Series:

    Internal Welcome and External Witness:
    LGBTQ Youth Ministry

    Speaker: Ross Murray is a Vice President at the GLAAD Media Institute, which provides activist, spokesperson, and media engagement training and education for LGBTQ and allied community members, the media industry and advocacy organizations desiring to deepen their media impact. Ross is also a founder and director of The Naming Project, a faith-based camp for LGBTQ youth and their allies. His book, Made, Known, Loved: Developing LGBTQ-Inclusive Youth Ministry is available from Fortress Press. Ross is a producer for the “Yass, Jesus!” podcast, a faith and sexuality affirming podcast that believes you don’t have to pick between gay and God. Ross is an ordained Deacon in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, with a specific calling to advocate for LGBTQ people and to bridge the LGBTQ and faith communities. www.RossMurray.org

    Download Resource List from the Webinar

    December 2022 Lunch and Learn Series:

    Spiritual Resilience: Christmas and Beyond

    Speaker: Connie Fourré is an award-winning author and educator with 25 years’ experience in high school faith formation and wellness. In these turbulent times she offers a practical approach to developing spiritual resilience designed for people of all ages. spiritualresilience.org

    Mental & Spiritual Health: Tending to Ourselves and Others

    Mental health in ministry begins with you. This webinar focuses on how to tend to our whole selves: body, mind and spirit by getting back to the basics of self-care, gaining insight to compassion fatigue, and learning new coping strategies that can be beneficial during times of uncertainty.

    Lessen the Heavy Load

    What can be done when uncertainty, constant change, big feelings and stress surround? This webinar gives an opportunity to gain self awareness, practice stress relief and develop doable action plans that can help lessen the heavy load.