“Where do I Draw the Line: Maintaining Boundaries in a Digital Age”
Setting boundaries is important, but with the COVID-19 pandemic, it has become crucial. While the virus has reminded us of our need for setting physical boundaries, it has left us no choice but to work from home and communicate virtually, ushering us into a world with no boundaries or borders. As a result, the lines have become blurred, and now more than ever, it is difficult to separate work life from home life.
The goal of this training is to increase awareness of the need for healthy boundaries in the clergy-congregant relationship especially in light of the new post-pandemic normal. The training will cover topics such as theology and boundaries, transference and touch, personal needs and self-care, dual relationships, as well as emerging issues in maintaining healthy boundaries such as technology, social media, pornography, and attraction. This workshop will explore clergy sexual misconduct (CSM), but also move beyond CSM to discuss the more mundane boundary challenges and the ordinary and vexing dilemmas that rob clergy of the experience of life-giving ministry. The goal of this training is not only to prevent sexual misconduct, but to promote life-giving, invigorating ministries that don’t just survive but thrive. Participants will walk away with a much deeper understanding of where boundary challenges come from, how to better respond to them, and how to work within themselves and their congregations to set boundaries that revive and strengthen their ministry.
This workshop will combine synchronous and asynchronous learning. Synchronous workshop time will be Saturday, June 19, 2021 from 10 – 1pm EST, via Zoom, with materials for asynchronous learning to be sent to registrants on June 2, 2021, and the pre-work to be due by June 16, 2021.
Presenter – Rev. Alice Fadiora, MDiv, LAMFT
Alice Fadiora is a Marriage and Family Therapist in Princeton NJ who specializes in the integration of Spirituality and Psychotherapy. Alice’s goal as a therapist is to walk alongside individuals, couples, and families, in times of transition, stress, anxiety, depression, trauma, grief, relationship issues, and marital and family conflict. She believes in a holistic approach to wellness that considers not only the mental and emotional, but also the biological, the spiritual, the occupational, and the social aspects of our lives. Her past experience includes working as Interim Pastor and Prison Chaplain. Along with managing her private practice, Alice also serves as a Youth Pastor and a Hospital Chaplain.