Register Now: “Trauma and your People”
By Sharon Mager
Dr. Tom Rodgerson (BCM/D photo).
In a episode of Peculiar People, the Baptist Convention of Maryland/Delaware’s (BCM/D) podcast, Dr. Tom Rodgerson, a counselor with CentrePointe Counseling, says, “There’s a great story that Carl Jung told, commenting on Caligula, who was an emperor in the Roman Empire. [He was] sailing back to Rome and the remora fish came out of the depths. It’s a sucker fish and it attached itself to the rudder of the boat so the boat couldn’t be steered and couldn’t move. And because of that, Caligula showed up late and they had plotted his murder and he died. It gave them enough time to plot his murder. And Jung says that in the unconscious, or the preconscious, there’s often things like a remora fish lying there that’ll come up and attach itself to something significant in your life. And if you’re not in touch with what’s going on in the depths of your life, it can create a disaster.”
Left unaddressed, trauma could cause a disaster.
According to the National Counsel of Behavioral Health, “Trauma occurs when a person is overwhelmed by events or circumstances and responds with intense fear, horror, and helplessness. Extreme stress overwhelms the person’s capacity to cope. There is a direct correlation between trauma and physical health conditions such as diabetes, COPD, heart disease, cancer, and high blood pressure.” The counsel cites that 70 percent of adults in the U.S. have experienced trauma sometime in their lives.
Cynthia M. Canner (used with permission).
People in your church and in your leadership have, will, or are experiencing trauma.
In an effort to assist church leaders in this area, the BCM/D is hosting a trauma seminar featuring several professionals who will help you recognize trauma, and help you understand its effects and ways to respond in a healthy, godly manner.
Eliza Huie (used with permission).
Guests include CentrePoint Counselors Dr. Tom Rodgerson and Cynthia M. Canner; Dr. Bergina Isbell, a psychiatry specialist in Upper Marlboro, Maryland; and Eliza Huie, a biblical counselor, speaker, and author.
Rodgerson, once again referring to the remora fish, says, “Trauma that has been consciously processed can be symbolically compared to the positive side of the remora fish, when it cleans irritating parasites off of other sea creatures to keep them healthy.
“How we deal with the trauma in our lives (and IF we deal with trauma in our lives) makes all the difference in the world,” he concluded.
The conference will be from 9 a.m. to noon on Feb. 26, 2021, via Zoom. There is no charge, but registration is required. This conference is open to all.
