This handbook is for ministers and lay leaders who are faced with leading an individual or a church community through a traumatic event and its aftermath. It arises out of the Tragedy and Congregations Project which helps churches to respond in a healthy way to the impact of tragedies, local and global, through training in good practice, careful reflection, and personal resilience.
*Part One, The Traumatized Individual, examines the physical and mental impact of trauma, and offers and a rapid response pastoral toolkit and guidance on appropriate continuing care.
*Part Two offers pastoral and liturgical strategies for collective trauma that affects a whole congregation or communities and suggests 'habits of the heart' that will build resilience.
*Part Three reflects on the challenging theological questions that arise and the emergence of deeper, more nuanced understandings of God.
*Part Four offers guidance on caring for the carers.
