Father’s Day: A Soul-Care Assembly
In anticipation of Father’s Day, gather for a conversation between chaplain J.S. Park and interfaith minister Barbara Becker and hold space for one another to remember, honor, and wrestle with the legacy of our fathers and father figures. The discussion will touch on Park’s new book As Long As You Need and Becker’s recent memoir Heartwood: The Art of Living with the End in Mind. Both will share their spiritual journeys of grief and growth, the ways in which we all can accompany others in their suffering (particularly with parental loss), and how the memory of those who have passed can become a source for our own transformation.
We will provide an opportunity for Q&A and peer-led breakout rooms for prompt-based small group discussion as we prepare ourselves for all the feels on Father’ Day.
Barbara Becker is a best-selling author and international human rights advocate. Her Gold Nautilus Award-winning memoir, Heartwood: The Art of Living with the End in Mind, was named a “Book that will Change Your Life” by Katie Couric Media. She has worked with the United Nations, Human Rights First, the Ms. Foundation for Women, and the Grameen Bank of Bangladesh, and has participated in a delegation of Zen Peacemakers and Lakota elders in the sacred Black Hills of South Dakota. She is also an ordained interfaith minister who bridges the sacred and the secular, and has sat with hundreds of people at the end of their lives. Barbara lives in New York City with her husband David.
J.S. Park is a hospital chaplain, published author, and online educator. For eight years he has been an interfaith chaplain at a 1000+ bed hospital that is designated a Level 1 Trauma Center. His role includes grief counseling, attending every death, every trauma and Code Blue, staff care, and supporting end-of-life care. J.S. also served for three years as a chaplain at one of the largest nonprofit charities for the homeless on the east coast. J.S. has a MDiv completed in 2010 and a BA in Psychology. He also has a sixth-degree black belt. He is the author of As Long as You Need: Permission to Grieve. J.S. currently lives in Tampa, Florida with his wife, a nurse practitioner, and his daughter, newborn son, and adopted dog.
About Reimagine
Reimagine's mission is to help all people face adversity, loss, and mortality, and channel the hard parts of life into meaningful action and growth. www.letsreimagine.org
Reimagine continues to offer gatherings on holidays, often times of extreme vulnerability and grief. In particular, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Thanksgiving, and winter celebrations in December can be difficult because of their traditional associations with family members and reunions. However, even in seasons of sorrow, reasons for gratitude and joy can be found. It’s time to reimagine holidays and discover what matters most about these annual events.
