Ministries of Healing
The Beloved Community at The Trees is dedicated to healing and reconciliation. We welcome all who wish join in our worship, formation, and social opportunities. We especially welcome anyone who wishes to participate in our healing ministries.
Religious Trauma Recovery Group
1st and 3rd Sundays of each month, 3:00 - 4:30 PM
Led by Rev. Phillip Bass MDiv, ThM, MA, LCMHC, NCC
Religious trauma occurs when a person’s religious experience is stressful, degrading, dangerous, abusive, or damaging. Traumatic religious experiences may harm or threaten to harm someone’s physical, emotional, mental, sexual, or spiritual health and safety.  You are invited to join us as we gather weekly to discuss personal experiences of religious trauma and learn together about healing.
Parents, Families & Friends of Queer Youth Support Group
2nd and 4th Sundays of each month, 3:30 - 4:30 PM
Led by Deacon Dan Laird
This group is offered for anyone who considers themselves family or friends of a queer youth. The purpose of this group is to explore together what the bible actually says about being queer, how to be supportive family, and how to process your own experiences someone who loves a queer youth.
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You can access the archive of previous support group discussions and topics here.
VIRTUAL RELIGIOUS TRAUMA SUPPORT GROUP
Led by Sam Laurent, Ph.D.
Hosted by The Beloved Community at the Trees
What Is Religious Trauma?
Religious trauma refers to the physical, emotional, or psychological distress caused by religious beliefs, practices, or structures. It is experienced as overwhelming or disruptive and can have lasting effects on a person’s physical, mental, social, emotional, or spiritual well-being.
How Do I Know If I’ve Experienced Religious Trauma? Religious trauma can show up in many ways, including:
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Hyper-perfectionism
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People-pleasing
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Doubting your own judgment or perception
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Fixation on “correctness” and avoiding anything deemed bad or evil
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Anxiety or panic triggered by reminders of past religious experiences
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Confusion or lack of clarity about your personality, sexuality, or gender expression
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Persistent feelings of guilt or exaggerated responsibility
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Excessive fear of being judged, scrutinized, or socially excluded
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Heightened sensitivity to rejection or blame
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Avoiding attention or visibility
When Do We Meet?
Tuesday evenings from 7:00–8:30 PM, beginning January 13 and concluding May 5.
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Who Can Participate?
Anyone who identifies as having experienced religious trauma is welcome. This is an open group — you may join at any time — though we encourage beginning early to support the full processing experience.
REGISTER TO PARTICIPATE AT bit.ly/TBC-2026-ReligiousTrauma.
Questions?
Contact: welcome@belovedcommunitydurham.org