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About The nugget. (Sisters, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (June 27, 2018)
6 Wednesday, June 27, 2018 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon Kiwanis grant comes full circle in Sisters By Katy Yoder Correspondent Terri Daniel arrived in town 12 years ago after hearing about Sisters from a friend who suggested it would be a great place to heal from the recent death of her 16-year-old son. Living in a remote cabin, Terri grieved — but also began to cobble together a new life, which would ultimately lead her in unimagined new directions. She quickly recognized that her healing process had ignited a passion for building a positive relationship with death and grief. With mini- mal resources, she immersed herself in preparing to sup- port others on the grief jour- ney. She began as a hospice volunteer, and went on to spend the next nine years in academia, pursuing degrees in comparative religion and counseling while studying multi-cultural approaches to death and grief through South American and African ritual traditions. “It didn’t take me long to notice that people bring a lot of religious issues to the experience of dying and grieving. I wanted to be qual- ified to address those issues, so I enrolled at Marylhurst University for a bachelor’s degree in religious studies,” said Daniel from her new home in Northern California. “I couldn’t have imagined that this journey would take me all the way to a doctor- ate — with a lot of inter- esting side trips along the way.” When she began her stud- ies at Marylhurst, she was able to remain in Sisters, taking classes online and on weekends, but classes that required her to be on cam- pus — along with hospice and hospital internships — forced her to move to the Portland area in 2012. When she entered a clinical chap- laincy training program at Good Samaritan Hospital in Corvallis, she applied for — and received — the Kiwanis Community Scholarship Service Grant to pay for the program. “That grant really helped get me started as a chaplain, which, I should point out, is not a religious designation,” Daniel explained. “I don’t identify with any particular religion or belief system, but to provide spiritual support in clinical settings, chaplaincy training is crucial. It helped me to develop an interfaith language so I could help peo- ple with their spiritual issues, regardless of their personal theology.” As she continued to gain experience working with the dying and the bereaved, she observed that some theo- logical systems were causing undue stress and pain during the grieving process, which is the subject of her doctoral dissertation. “I frequently encounter people who are struggling with the suicide of a loved one, and they believe suicide is a sin punishable by an eter- nity in hell. Or if they lost a child, they believe the death is punishment for a ‘sin’ the parent(s) may have commit- ted in the past,” Terri added. “The grief process is diffi- cult enough without adding unhelpful concepts that do nothing but promote guilt and shame.” Daniel is returning to Sisters this summer to ful- fill the final phase of her Kiwanis Club grant, which asks recipients to bring their skills back to the community. “I offer my deepest gratitude to the Kiwanis,” Daniel said. “Because of that training, I’m better able to give bereaved individu- als not just the benefit of my personal experience, but access to a body of knowledge about spiritual- ity, psychology and grieving practices from around the world.” To share that knowledge, Daniel teaches classes and facilitates workshops that offer unique bereavement tools that are not ordinarily found in traditional counsel- ing or support group settings. In addition to interactive group work and art therapy processes, she incorporates powerful rituals from cul- tures that have deep respect for death and the power of community to support the bereaved. “Many grievers find that our culture’s basic rituals around loss – funeral customs, grief support groups, prayer, counseling, etc. — lack per- sonal meaning, and don’t go deep enough,” Daniel said. “In order to advance our wisdom and develop more skills in this area, we need to borrow from other cultures. The workshops incorporate ceremonies from Peruvian shamanism, sacred singing from Celtic pagan traditions, African community grief rituals, and teachings from Gnostics, Buddhism and Judeo-Christian mysticism.” Daniel is offering several workshops in Central Oregon between July 8 and 15. In Sisters, HarmonyHouse will host “Conscious Grieving: Turning Loss into Light,” a mini-workshop on July 10. The evening includes expe- riential practices for work- ing through loss and grief that are of interest to griev- ing individuals as well as bereavement professionals seeking insights into sup- porting clients. For informa- tion and tickets, visit www. spiritualityandgrief.com or call 503-957-7419. PHOTO PROVIDED Terri Daniel is coming back to Sisters offering a workshop on conscious grieving. Her studies were assisted by a Kiwanis Community Scholarship Service Grant from the Sisters chapter of the service organization. Hair 911? Who ya gonna call ? The Hair Caché ! 152 E. Main Ave. • 541-549-8771 Jeff • Theresa • Ann • Jamie • Shiela • Terri • Shanntyl • Brittany DOT Physicals $ 10 OFF! Valid through 7-31-18 Dr. Thomas R. Rheuben General, Cosmetic, Implant and Family Dentistry ~ Your Dentist in Sisters Since 1993 ~ We are here to help you smile with confi dence! 541-549-0109 | 304 W. 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