In her Summit session, Jenai discusses her book Othered: Finding Belonging with the God Who Pursues the Hurt, Harmed, and Marginalized. She explores themes of identity and belonging, and owning one's sense of self despite the pain of being "othered" in spiritual spaces.

You will hear about her personal experience and learn recommendations for responding to the harm of othering, and how to build communities of belonging, even if that means outside traditional church structures.

Bio

Jenai is a Filipina American writer and artist. She draws from her years in church leadership as well as her trauma-informed training to write on healing, hope, and the way forward. She is passionate about providing language so readers can find a faith that frees. She received her bachelor’s degree in behavioral health science and is currently pursuing a master’s in spiritual formation at Northeastern Seminary. Jenai lives in Houston, Texas, with her husband, Tyler, and their sons, Quinn and Graham.

Links & Resources 

website | Instagram | Substack

Othered by Jenai Auman

The Artist's Joy by Meredith Hite Estevez

The Second Sex by Simone de Beauvior

• Othering and Belonging Institute with John Powell
• SAHMSA Trauma-Informed Guidelines
• Disunity in Christ by Dr. Christina Cleveland

We need people to be with us in our grief, rather than attempt to take it away. Therapist Daniel Bertilson discusses the complexities of grief. He shares his own story of spiritual abuse and the particular grief of being exiled as a part of the LGBTQIA+ community. He explores the roles of shame, vulnerability, and creative expression in the grieving process and encourages listeners to connect with their own stories of grief. Daniel highlights the need, whenever possible, to navigate grief in the context of safe community.

Bio

Daniel Bertilson is a therapist who works primarily with adults seeking healing from complex trauma. He graduated from Covenant Theological Seminary's MAC program in 2022 and now works at Legacy Counseling and Consulting, a private practice  located in the heart of St. Louis, MO. While he is trained in EMDR, and often uses it with clients, he also loves doing standard talk therapy. When working with clients, his main focus is helping them to develop a disposition of non-judgmental curiosity toward themselves so that they can, with greater ease, navigate the points of shame that inevitably come up during their time in counseling. From this place of "shame resiliency" (Dr. Brené Brown) Daniel strives to empower his clients to tell their stories in a way that helps them to both adaptively move through the pain that life has offered them and to grow in their capacity to encounter and experience joy . As someone who firmly believes that people are hurt and healed in the context of relationship, Daniel focuses heavily on developing interpersonal safety with his clients, no matter what modality of therapy he is utilizing. Daniel is humbled at the opportunity to speak at the summit and hopes that he is able to, in some way, pass along a few pieces of wisdom that he has picked up from others who have gone before him. It is his prayer that his talk will help you in your personal healing journey and that, for those who are also in a caring role, you will feel more equipped to continue your meaningful work.

Resources

Website

Books:

• Contribution to Analytical Psychology by Carl Jung
• To Be Told by Dan Allender
• The Problem of Pain by C. S. Lewis
• Leading with a Limp by Dan Allender
• The Healing Path by Dan Allender
• The Cry of the Soul by Dan Allender
• Daring Greatly by Brené Brown
• A Grief Observed by C. S. Lewis
• Even in Our Darkness by Jack Deere

TED talk by Nora McInerny: We Don’t Move On From Grief, We Move Forward With It

TED talk by Sky Jarrett: Finding Joy in Grief: A Radical and Mindful Approach to Grieving