Compassion Fatigue: Helping the Helpers
FEATURING
Brian Bantum, Ph.D.
Bishop Ken Carder
Rev. Dr. Leanna Fuller
This year has been uniquely hard on caregivers, paid and unpaid, as many of their support networks have changed in the face of a pandemic. Compassion fatigue – symptoms that range from sadness and isolation to physical ailments – is at an all-time high as caregivers must work through the additional stressors this year has brought.
What resources exist for caregivers? How can they create a sustainable practice of self-care? And how do churches provide new supports for these integral members of our community?
Whether you are caring for an aging parent, an essential worker caring for our neighborhoods, or pastoring a faith community, join our panelists as they encourage caregivers and inspire churches with ways to better help the helpers.
LINKS & RESOURCES
PANELISTS
Brian Bantum, Ph.D.
NEAL F. AND ILA A. FISHER PROFESSOR OF THEOLOGY, GARRETT-EVANGELICAL THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON
Dr. Brian Bantum is the Neil F. and Ila A. Chair of Theology at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary. He writes and teaches on the intersections of theology and embodiment, particularly on questions of race and identity. He is a regular contributor to The Christian Century and has published two books: Redeeming Mulatto: A Theology of Race and Christian Hybridity and The Death of Race: Building a New Christianity in a Racial World. He speaks throughout the country on how racial imagination shapes our identity and how our lives as disciples might live into the fullness of God’s life and create spaces of justice and flourishing and life in their midst, becoming slight glimmers of God’s present and coming kingdom.
Bantum lives in Seattle, Washington, with his spouse, Rev. Gail Song Bantum, and his three (almost) grown children. There he can be seen riding his bike or walking his dog or fixing espresso for the family. While not a native of the Pacific Northwest, it has clearly sunk in.
Bishop Kenneth L. Carder
RETIRED UMC BISHOP
COLUMBIA, SC
Bishop Ken Carder is a retired Bishop of the United Methodist Church. Born in Tennessee, he graduated with honors from East Tennessee State University and Wesley Theological Seminary. In 1980 he received the Doctor of Ministry Degree from Vanderbilt Divinity School.
Ken has served churches in Gaithersburg, Maryland; Bristol, Tennessee; Abingdon, Virginia; and Knoxville and Oak Ridge, Tennessee. He has a special commitment to Wesleyan studies, dialogues between science and theology, prison ministries, racial and economic justice, and ministry with those who live in poverty.
Ken was first elected to Jurisdictional Conference in 1980. He was elected to General Conference in 1984, 1988, and 1992. He was elected to the episcopacy in 1992 while serving as pastor of Church Street Church in Knoxville, Tennessee. He served the Nashville and Mississippi Areas. Upon retiring in 2004, Ken joined the full-time faculty of Duke Divinity School as Professor of the Practice of Pastoral Formation
Rev. Dr. Leanna Fuller
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF PASTORAL CARE, PITTSBURGH THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY
PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA
Rev. Dr. Leanna Fuller serves as Associate Professor of Pastoral Care at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary. She holds a Ph.D. in Religion, Psychology, and Culture from Vanderbilt University, where her dissertation research focused on congregational conflict. Her most recent book is When Christ's Body is Broken: Anxiety, Identity, and Conflict in Congregations.
Fuller is an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ and has professional experience in both chaplaincy and parish ministry. Her family includes her spouse, Scott (also a UCC minister), their son Simon, and two dogs.
OTHER WEBINARS IN THIS SERIES
The Effects of Prolonged Stress:
Taking Care of Yourself
More adults are reporting anxiety and depression than ever before. Our panelists of pastors and healthcare professionals will discuss the different mental concerns this year has caused and ways we can build resiliency to help ourselves and to help others as we face a continued unknown future.
Relationships in a Pandemic: Building Resiliency During Unique Challenges
When we hurt, the people around us are affected. With the additional pressures of 2020, many relationships are under duress or even in crisis. Our panelists will discuss the unique stressors of this year and their effect on our families, friends, neighbors, and churches.
Pandemic as Moral Injury:
How Do We React to Global Suffering?
The tragic headlines in 2020 feel relentless. As people of faith, what should our reaction be? Join our panelists as they discuss the burdens of anger, hopelessness, guilt, and futility this year has brought and how to meet those feelings with hope, action, and healing.
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