Complicated Grief in Extraordinary Times

OPTalksCO-VIDA 19AfroSpirituspodcast
Written By Open Plaza

Rev. Dr. Loida Martell and psychologist Rev. Dr. Yvonne Martínez Thorne discuss coping strategies and how caring for the whole matters

Empty chairs set up by Covid Survivors for Change, representing a fraction of the 200,000+ lives lost due to COVID-19. The memorial was shown during the National COVID-19 Remembrance at The Ellipse outside the White House, Washington, D.C., 4 October 2020. Award-winning singer Dionne Warwick, Former U.S. Ambassador for Health, hosted the livestreamed event. Photo: Ted Eytan, MD

Empty chairs set up by Covid Survivors for Change, representing a fraction of the 200,000+ lives lost due to COVID-19. The memorial was shown during the National COVID-19 Remembrance at The Ellipse outside the White House, Washington, D.C., 4 October 2020. Award-winning singer Dionne Warwick, Former U.S. Ambassador for Health, hosted the livestreamed event. Photo: Ted Eytan, MD

 
 

Rev. Dr. Loida Martell talks to psychologist Rev. Dr. Yvonne Martínez Thorne about complicated grief in extraordinary times. “We have been going from grief to grief in grief,” says Rev. Dr. Martínez Thorne, Founder and CEO of Cultivating Wholeness Counseling Associates, PC, where caring for the whole person matters. “This pandemic of COVID-19, plus the pandemic of racism, has ushered us into this journey of living grief. It pulsates, it doesn’t stop. It is continual.” She encourages us “to acknowledge this reality, that we are in uncharted waters of grief.” For church leaders, Rev. Dr. Martínez Thorne recommends creating clergy support groups and reminding those you serve that “you, too, have feelings and are going through things,” but that, “together, you can build a community in which you all care for each other.” Other practical ways to recharge: disconnect from devices and be sure to dedicate time to rest.

 
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Loida Martell

The Rev. Dr. Loida I. Martell is the 18th Vice President of Academic Affairs/ Dean of Lexington Theological Seminary, where she also serves as Professor of Constructive Theology. Dr. Martell is a licensed doctor in veterinary medicine as well as an ordained minister in the American Baptist Churches/ USA. She is a bi-coastal Puerto Rican who has taught in various institutions of higher learning. She pastored in New York City for 15 years, creating bilingual programs for the churches she served. Dr. Martell pioneered the study of evángelica theology. In addition to various articles, she co-edited Teología en Conjunto: A Collaborative Hispanic Protestant Theology (1997), and co-authored Latina Evangélicas: A Theological Survey from the Margins (2013). Focusing on the impact of globalization has led her to write on wide-ranging subjects such as mass incarceration and immigration, climate change and emergent diseases, and racism. In addition to her membership in the American Academy of Religion, the Society of Biblical Literature, and the American Veterinary Medical Association, Dr. Martell represents the American Baptist Churches/USA on the National Council of Churches Convening Table for Theological Studies and Matters of Faith and Reason, serves on the NCC Racial Task Force, and served as President of La Comunidad of Hispanic Scholars of Religion (AAR/ SBL) from 2016–2019.

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Yvonne Martínez Thorne

Rev. Dr. Yvonne Martínez Thorne is founder and CEO of Cultivating Wholeness Counseling Associates. Located in Pennsylvania and Florida, her faith-based practice provides specialized services for ordained clergy and lay leaders.  She also provides secular and faith-based counseling and psychotherapy to people across faith, race, and culture. Rev. Dr. Martínez Thorne served as consultant for Area Ministry and Communications for the Philadelphia Baptist Association.  Her commitment to the church continues in her role as consultant to congregations, ecumenical judicatories, and Christian organizations seeking greater wholeness and wellness. She recently provided disaster relief to clergy and congregations traumatized by natural disasters in Puerto Rico and The Bahamas. She currently serves as faculty at Lexington Theological Seminary, where she offers courses on clergy wellness and on the importance of healthy boundaries in ministry.  Rev. Dr. Martínez Thorne holds an MDiv from Palmer Theological Seminary and an EdD in Counseling Psychology from Columbia University.  Rev. Martínez Thorne is ordained clergy of the American Baptist Churches USA. She is married to Rev. Dr. Leo S. Thorne, former associate general secretary for Mission Resource Development for the American Baptist Churches USA.   

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