The Sacred Journey of Caregiving

By Stephanie Schoenhoff with Colette Halferty

October 19, 2018

The Henri Nouwen Society will host a full-day retreat Oct. 27 in Ottawa aimed at helping caregivers care for themselves. Courage for Caregivers aims to identify challenges and gifts by offering new spiritual practices to sustain long-term self-care. Convivium contributor Stephanie Schoenhoff spoke with the Society’s Colette Halferty about hopes – and prayers – for the event.

 CH: True caring can be difficult, and caregivers must also learn how to be care receivers if they are to be nourished and have the physical, emotional and spiritual energy and resilience necessary to remain healthy while they accompany and care for others  Nouwen's wisdom reminds us of the support we all need as caregivers in order to stay healthy, but also gives us some new perspectives through which we can examine the relationship of care and draw strength  CH: Our prayer for this retreat is that we can truly meet people where they are at – to honour them in their own realities and provide them with the spiritual and psychological tools that will help their care journey, while learning that caring for themselves is as important as caring for others

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