Gestalt Pastoral Care
Autumn Newsletter 2016
integrating gestalt work, spiritual companioning & healing prayer
A Message from Tilda
By Rev. Tilda Norberg, Founder
I spent the summer at PennHouse, our place in Dingmans
Ferry, PA with no particular schedule, with no reason to
get up before I was ready, and with no commitments to
lead or lecture or listen. I slept and then slept some more
and gleefully accepted that I had morphed into a bedbug. I
reveled in the extraordinary luxury of being able, for a
time, to do exactly what I felt like doing.
Here’s what I felt like doing: hanging out with my kids and grandkids,
cooking a little and eating a little too much, attending my glorious 75th
​
birthday party organized by GPC friends, walking in the woods,
cooling off in the many woodland streams around here, attending a
few concerts, talking with George or being easy together without
words, praying and writing in the middle of the night, and playing with
Sophie the dog. It was glorious!
But last week I felt a shift. I’m rested now and have new energy for
work. I realized – again – that I love to work with GPC! Actually, I
can’t imagine doing anything else. I’m humbled and astonished all over
again when I’m with someone who chooses to explore her depths, and
sometimes finds God waiting there. Although mini-sabbaticals are
wonderful, I need to be engaged in the ministry of GPC to be who I
am.
Good Shift Is Happening
By Rev. Deb Jameson, Transitional Administrator
Just as Tilda wrote about “shift” happening to her this
summer, GPC continues to “shift” through the layers that
come with building a structure to strengthen its work
and vision (​Rooted in the healing ministry of Jesus, GPC
uses Gestalt perspectives to support persons as they
discover
​ and respond to God’s vision for their wholeness – from GPC
mission statement). Many of you have been apart of this shift with
your suggestions from the discernment exercise at “GPC at 30
Conference” in 2014. A Visioning Committee, also the same year,
invited Consultant Phil Bergey of Design Group International to walk
with them and provide coaching as the beginnings of a new structure
began to emerge.
Where are we in this great transition? This God-with-us shift? Lots of
pieces are being woven together by many dedicated and amazing
people and I’m blessed to be a part of this as your GPC “transitional”
administrator. So what’s been happening? A visioning committee
​
(currently acting as the Board of Trustees) is faithfully weaving the
values and DNA of Gestalt Pastoral Care into a structure that will be
true to and supportive of the work of this healing ministry. A
nomination committee is preparing a slate of potential nominees to
serve on the 2017 Board of Trustees; a bylaws committee is refining
the rules for governance; the Grow GPC committee is cultivating
donors, planning special events, and ensuring the broader community
stays up to date with all things GPC via social media; GPC Trainers are
planning a host of opportunities including courses (in person and
online), internships, retreats, and trainings; and, an executive
committee is tending to financial compliances, coordination of an
online office, and oversight of all the important minutia that comes
along.
The acting Board of Trustees is working diligently to discern the best
form of governance for GPC and they realize that it is not a science
but an art shaped by the presence and movement of God among us.
Dan Hotchkiss captures it in his book ​Rethinking Board Leadership when he states leaders “must continually balance the conserving
function of an (organization) with the expectation of disruptive,
change-inducing creativity that comes when individuals peek past the
temple veil and catch fresh visions of the Holy”.
Good shifts are indeed happening.
Scholarship Fund
Did you know you can receive training in GPC through our scholarship
program? Generous donors make it possible for those in need to begin
coursework with GPC faculty. For more information, please visit:
www.gestaltpastoralcare.org
Take This, All of You
By Rhoda S. Glick, GPC Minister
“Take this, all of you.” Not just “all of you” as in everyone
present. No. Today as I hear these words of invitation at
mass they speak to me directly. Jesus is inviting me to
receive his redeeming, healing love into every part of
myself, not just the parts that I may approve of and
maybe even be proud of.
Rather, Jesus is gently inviting me to open up the hidden and wounded
parts of myself and to there receive his transforming love. Nothing, no
part of myself needs to be excluded from that Love. Jesus loves every
part of me. Even the parts I find difficult to accept and love.
In the spirit of christ, the Gestalt Pastoral Care minister gently invites
participants to say “yes” and to open up to where it hurts, to where
there might be shame or blame or any type of brokenness. The GPC
minister reverently accompanies the participant in the oftentimes
painful process of accessing that which is hidden. In so doing we
become persona Christi, the Jesus with skin, for the other. Because we
have unveiled that which was hidden, because we are actively in the
process of receiving the Living Christ into “all of us” in loving
assurance without fear, we can journey with the participant needing
support.
Today, as we sit with each other, let us above all else hear Jesus’
invitation to receive his healing love in “all of you,” into the places that
we often tend to hide or deny, specifically all the sins of the larger
pool of humanity of which I am part. And yet, in some way I
participate in all this ancestral and communal brokenness. Therefore,
when I by faith, love and gratitude receive the body of Christ into my
body, this marvelous, mystical, sacrificial Gift of love is healing and
transforming for me, my ancestral line and all of humanity. This is an
ongoing Process.
In Gestalt Pastoral Care we also affirm the importance of the body. We
are aware that the body communicates what is happening in the mind,
in our ways of thinking and believing about ourselves, others and God.
We believe that unresolved emotions are stored in the musculature of
the body, not just in the psyche. As we say “yes” to the healing God
yearns to give us, every cell in the
physical body is touched. We
experience the Living Christ in the
body.
Gestalt Pastoral Care rests on the belief that God's grace
is constantly at work in each person.
Although we can't predict just how you will be healed,
you can expect to be touched in body, mind, spirit, emotions
and social/relational context in a process unique to you alone.
GPC is rooted in the Christian ministry of healing,
and integrates Gestalt growth work, spiritual companioning and prayer for healing.
We are greatly enriched by the wide diversity
of theology and worship styles of our participants.
All retreats and training programs of Gestalt Pastoral Care are open and inclusive.
NYC Cultivation Event: Happy Birthday, Tilda!
​
Dear GPC Community​,
It's back to School time again. What memories that brings...
the sense of waiting for the harness of 'getting back into the
groove'. Grow GPC is still glowing from the wonderful time
we had at the Gala for Tilda's Birthday in July - what an
amazing event! Thank you all for the support: your prayers,
time, talents and finances - we have used every bit to further
the ministry of GPC. We are so excited about what happened
that dreams are arising for these kinds of gatherings in our
other parts of the country - in the Western PA Community, in Goshen IN, in
Virginia, and in other places where GPC is on the move. We have a large and
far flung community and we want to connect with all of you.
As my Irish granny would have said, "time to get your sturdy walking boots"
and get back into the rhythm of this new set of
lessons. Let us know what you are thinking, any
suggestions or ideas....we are listening, and we need
your input!
Shalom,
Alexandra MacCracken
Chair​, GROW GPC
GROW GPC Team:
Alexandra MacCracken, Chair (​[email protected]​)
Susan Vande Kappelle (​[email protected]​)
George McClain (​[email protected]​)
Alison Lucabaugh (​[email protected]​)
Kathryn Dickinson (​[email protected]​)
GPC Bash -- “Better than a Prom”
By Kathryn Dickinson
On Sunday, July 17 about 70 people from around the country came to
celebrate Rev. Tilda Norberg’s 75th birthday and healing ministry with
Gestalt Pastoral Care. The Social Hall at Tilda’s alma mater, Union
Theological Seminary in New York City, was transformed into a
festive, music-filled, laughter-resounding reunion of those who have
known and loved Tilda. The celebration included children,
grandchildren, GPC community, United Methodist peers, and
long-cherished friends. It was heart-warming to see participants from an early
Foundational Class reconnect and to witness hugs between Tilda and those she hasn’t
seen for some time.
Grow GPC Chair Alexandra MacCracken began our program with music and a message
about GPC’s growth. Kathryn Dickinson chronicled a bit of Tilda’s history as a child,
focusing on three central and influential people in her life -- her Granny Matilda
(frontier woman & midwife), her mother Louisa (fiercely independent, “a rebel” and
school teacher) and her father Lawrence (a beloved dad who taught Tilda to love
star-gazing ). GPC’s Sara Goold, UMC Bishop Jane Middleton, and George (Tilda’s
husband) shared thoughts, history, and memories of their time with Tilda and GPC.
Interspersed with our speakers music was played and sung by Alexandra and Pamela
Vining, the “Free Spirits” (violin and piano), Martha Miller (premiere of new song) and it
was a thrill to have Helen Gabrielson, Dau Oppussunggu and Nick Heller join me from
Park Slope UMC to sing several songs, including an original I composed in honor of
Tilda -- “I Have Seen the Lord.” Daughter Shanna Norberg prepared and served a
three-tier, beautiful celebration cake.
We are thankful for those of you who were not able to be present in person, but were
present in spirit with your prayers, your donations, your notes, your encouragement
and your love. The best line of the day was when Tilda came to the microphone and in
all her glory, clothed in a beautiful royal blue cocktail dress said: “I feel like I've finally
been asked to go to the prom.” Tilda was, on this day, surely the queen of the prom!
Aren’t we grateful to feel invited into the life and work of Tilda Norberg!
gestaltpastoralcare.org
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If you would like to make a Donation to GPC,
please visit our website
and click on the ​Donate​ button.
All donations help to ensure the future of this vital ministry.
Upcoming Retreats & Trainings
Opening to Grace Retreats:
● October 13-15​--Opening to Grace, led by Tilda Norberg, Dingman's
Ferry, PA. (Registration is open). For more information please contact
Tilda at [email protected]
● October 20-22​--Opening to Grace, led by Tilda Norberg, Vienna, VA
(registration is open). For more information please contact Alexandra
MacCracken at [email protected]
● November 17-19​--Opening to Grace, led by Tilda Norberg, Bergton, VA
(registration is open). For more information please contact Pat at
[email protected]
Foundational Training Class​:
● September 2016​-Foundational Training Group, taught by Tilda
Norberg, Dingman's Ferry, PA. *Class is full. Contact
[email protected] to be added to the wait list.
● October 2016​-Foundational Training Group, taught by Wanda Craner,
Reading, PA. For more information or to register please contact
Wanda at [email protected].
● November 2016​- Third year training (advanced class) forming now,
taught by Sara Goold. For more details please contact Sara at:
[email protected]​. (Note class is limited to 8 students).
● November 2016​-Foundational Training Group, taught by David Janvier,
Waynesburg, PA. For more information or to register please contact
Dave at [email protected].
● *In progress-not accepting participants. Foundational Training Group,
taught by Betty Voigt, Sycamore, PA.
Where is GPC?
Check out these websites of fellow GPC ministers
and see who’s in your area!
Holy Ground Hermitage (Betty Voigt, GPC Minister) holygroundhermitage.net
Sycamore, PA
Pathways Retreat Center (Linda Lehman Thomas, GPC Minister)pathwaysretreat.org
Goshen, IN