Date: Thursday, March 31, 2022, 7:00 - 8:00 pm ET
Available by: Join by Videoconference Only (learn more about videoconference)
Suggested Love Offering: $ 10.00
Sacred Sendoffs: Honoring Animal Lives, Healing Human Hearts
Facilitated by Rev. Sarah Bowen, Rev. Elizabeth Friend-Ennis, & Rev. Marshall Hammer
"Until one has loved an animal, a part of one's soul remains unawakened."
- Anatole France
Join us as we honor our beloved animal companions. We'll lead you through an experiential community ritual to honor our past losses, support those who are currently grieving, and pray together for injured, ill, or struggling animals we love.
Did you know that sixty-seven percent of homes in the U.S. (57% worldwide) are interspecies! And so, animal loss is inevitable for the majority of us. It can hurt, and the pain can linger for months... or decades.
One study found that 93 percent of humans who experienced animal loss reported a disruption in their lives, such as trouble sleeping or losing appetite. Over 50 percent reduced their social activities, and 45 percent had job-related difficulties. Other studies have documented people’s loss of motivation, increased stress, anxiety, worry, and depression. Furthermore, animal death tends to resurface our memories of past bereavements and losses.
The grief we experience during these heartbreaking moments is real. Yet it is often denied because the loss is “not human.” And so, it can stick around, pulling at our heartstrings for many years after the loss. It can impact future relationships with other animals and humans, too.
Furthermore, beyond our homes, how do we address the heartbreak we feel seeing a deer lying on the roadside or when hearing about the extinction of species on our interdependent planet?
We'll explore these questions together.
Please consider bringing a photo or memento to represent any of your losses.
Facilitators
Rev. Sarah Bowen (she/they)
Sarah Bowen is an animal chaplain and a co-founder of Compassion Consortium, the first interfaith, interspiritual, and interspecies community for people who care about and advocate for animals and the planet. Sarah companions animals through death, creates sacred memorial rituals, counsels humans grieving animal loss, and advocates for exploited and endangered species in both religious and secular contexts. She is also a dean at One Spirit Interfaith Seminary, where she encourages people to align their spiritual values with animal and planetary welfare. Sarah has presented on animal death and interspecies spirituality at the United Nations World Interfaith Harmony Week, Parliament of the World’s Religions, Compassion Arts Festival, Pace E Bene’s Campaign Nonviolence Action Week, Unity Village, and Spiritual Directors International. An award-winning author, her latest book is Sacred Sendoffs: An Animal Chaplain’s Advice for Surviving Animal Loss, Making Life Meaningful, & Trying to Heal the Planet (Monkfish Publishing, April 2022). Sarah is a columnist on animal/human relationships for Spirituality & Health magazine, and her work has appeared in Tricycle: The Buddhist Review, Elephant Journal, mindbodygreen, Parabola, Light of Consciousness, and other media. As a member of Spiritual Directors International, the Association for Pet Loss and Bereavement, and several recovery communities, Sarah guides others in connecting with the higher power of their own understanding to reduce suffering for all living beings. She holds a BA in Human Ecology, MA in Religious Studies, was ordained by One Spirit in 2017, and is joyfully engaged in postgraduate research in Humane Religious Studies and Anthrozoology.
Rev. Elizabeth Friend-Ennis (she/her)
Elizabeth Friend-Ennis was born to a devoutly Catholic family in the Midwest, and she felt a call to sacred service and exploring her spirituality from an early age. She had a career for many years in non-profit development, supporting environmental, educational, and health service agencies, at the same time that she and her husband became foster parents to several special-needs children. In 2009 she left the workforce to be lead parent for their three children, adopted through the Foster Care System. Her experiences in this arena have immersed her in the work of healing from trauma, abuse, and addiction. After ordination from One Spirit in 2016, she pursued clinical pastoral education (CPE), and worked for nearly three years as a Chaplain at Lutheran Care Center in Poughkeepsie, NY. Her spiritual path has been a circuitous journey including ten years spent in the Unification Church and subsequent interest in recovery from spiritual abuse. Her current practice is heavily influenced by Buddhism and Science of Mind. Much of her experience of the Divine is through nature and the outdoors. She is currently studying for a Master of Divinity degree, with an emphasis on Religion and Psychology, at Union Theological Seminary. She lives in southern Westchester with her husband, youngest daughter, two cats and her dog.
Rev. Marshall Hammer (she/her & they/them)
Marshall K. Hammer is an Interfaith/Interspiritual Minister & Reiki Practitioner who specializes in working with animals and their humans, remotely and in person. She facilitates a monthly peer-support group for folks experiencing grief after suicide loss and she's served on the NC Chapter Board of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. Her ministry is sprouting through a contract with Crest View Addiction Recovery Center, facilitating weekly Spirituality topic groups with participants in the program. Marshall also serves as part of the One Spirit in Recovery team. She is grateful for her One Spirit community and feels most alive in spaces where grief is present. (Where is it not?) She believes everyone benefits from feeling seen and accepted exactly where they are and knowing they're not alone. Marshall lives in the East Cherokee (Tsalaguwetiyi) Territory also known as Asheville, North Carolina.
If you have questions about registering for this course, please contact One Spirit Learning Alliance by email to info@1spirit.org or call 212-931-6840.