n e w c h u r c h l i f e : m ay / j u n e 2 0 1 6
Here are some of what participants said:
• You and your folks couldn’t have been more welcoming to everyone. The
event was so well organized and planned. The care and kindness from
the all associated with the event was palpable.
• I thought the event was wonderful. I was absolutely blown away by
people’s honesty in sharing their experiences. I really do think that it
gave people a voice and support.
• I think the entire church had a breakthrough today.
The closing for this event included a generously donated tree and memorial
stone planted at the Cathedral. This tree was planted with the names, prayers
and hopes that participants wrote on leaves. It was a powerful ending to a
powerful event.
You can visit this tree now on the West Lawn of the Cathedral. It is a
willow oak reminding us of the comfort available to all who have lost someone
to these challenges or who are battling them. It is marked with a memorial
stone with the comforting words of Jesus: “Come to me all you who are weary
and burdened and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28)
bryn athyn college takes on domestic violence
The Rev. Dr. Thane Glenn, Chaplain
On April 1, Bryn Athyn College hosted a presentation for students, faculty and
staff: “Dating Abuse: Why Do They Stay?”
The College invited Cassandra Iannetta, an educator from Laurel House – a
safe house and resource center in Montgomery County for victims of domestic
abuse – to speak to our campus community about what abusive relationships
look like, and what we can do to prevent abusive situations from escalating.
She focused particularly on dating relationships, since the potential for abuse
in these situations speaks most directly to the stage of most of our students.
Ms. Iannetta took us through an active participation exercise in which she
narrated a hypothetical borderline-abusive relationship. She asked us to signify
at what point we would walk away from it, and at what point we might return.
The exercise drove home the point that abuse is not always easy to delineate,
and that it often takes the form of emotional and psychological harm, not only
physical mistreatment.
She then talked about why people in abusive relationships have a difficult
time leaving them, and offered some clear steps on how to get help or to reach
out to those mired in abusive situations.
Bryn Athyn College felt it was important to offer this program, since
most College students are in a formative stage in which they are beginning
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