Adult Education: Faith in the 21st Century

From Hopelessness to Resilience – Suicide Prevention, Awareness and Care

March 1 | Suicide and Resilience – Drawing on Faith and Spirituality in Times of Trauma | Dr. Carrie Doehring, Professor at Iliff School of Theology

• The first of three Adult Ed sessions in March relating to the topic of suicide prevention and building resilience. Dr. Carrie Doehring shares her personal experience with the grief of suicide, describes her mind/body approach to dealing with grief and explores how people draw upon faith and spirituality to build resilience. Dr. Doehring is a professor at Denver’s Iliff School of Theology, a licensed psychologist and an ordained Presbyterian minister. Besides leading Iliff’s pastoral care and counseling program, Carrie is a distinguished author and speaker.

March 8 | The Suicide Epidemic and Adult Men | Dr. Sally Spencer-Thomas, Clinical Psychologist

• The second of three Adult Ed sessions in March relating to the topic of suicide prevention and building resilience. Dr. Sally Spencer-Thomas shares her personal experience with the grief of suicide and explores the silent epidemic of suicide in adult men, who account for nearly 70% of suicides annually. Dr. Spencer-Thomas is a clinical psychologist, an inspirational international speaker, an author and an impact entrepreneur. An innovator in social change, Sally has helped start up multiple large-scale, gap-filling efforts in mental health, including the award-winning campaign Man Therapy and the nation’s first initiative for suicide prevention in the construction industry, Construction Working Minds. Sally is a friend of Montview and served as a consultant, speaker and staff trainer for The Resilience Effort at Montview.

March 15 | Suicide and an Exploration of Grief | Dr. David Johns, Licensed Professional Counselor

• The third of three Adult Ed sessions in March relating to the topic of suicide prevention and building resilience.  Dr. David Johns describes his personal experience with the grief of suicide and shares his expertise on the topic on the grieving process. Dr. David Johns holds a PhD in Counseling and Education, and is a licensed professional counselor, a licensed addiction counselor, and an adjunct faculty member at Regis University. David’s specialty areas include grief, resilience, and religious and spiritual concerns, and he has published scholarly articles about LGBTQ spirituality, religious and spiritual competency, research poetry, and couples therapy. David has a strong connection to Montview, having sung with the Westminster Choir and being active on the steering committee of The Resilience Effort.  

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March 22 | Singing Songs in a Strange Land | Dr. Marjorie Lewis

March 29 | Double Consciousness in Black Theology: A Dream or a Nightmare | H. Malcolm Newton, Th.D., Denver Institue of Urban Studies President/CEO and Member of Montview Church

• Malcolm explores the contours of the two most influential African-American leaders of the 20^th Century. While Martin Luther King, Jr., saw America as essentially a dream, Malcolm X viewed America as a realized nightmare.  Double Consciousness is a term describing the internal conflict experienced by subordinated groups in an oppressive society.  It was coined by W.E.B. DuBois with reference to African-Americans “double consciousness” referring to the psychological challenge of “always looking at one’s self through the eyes” of a racist white society, and measuring oneself by the means of a nation that looked back in contempt.