We will explore ways to safely talk about suicide in our faith communities, discuss the big questions (e.g. Is suicide a sin?), and examine the role of congregations in suicide prevention, intervention, and postvention.

Rev. Dr. Rachael Keefe is the author of The Lifesaving Church: Faith Communities and Suicide Prevention (Chalice Press, 2018), and pastor of Living Table United Church of Christ in Minneapolis, MN. She’s a favored conference presenter on topics related to faith and mental health, particularly suicide and congregations. Since her ordination in 1992, Keefe has served in many different ministry settings. She has graduate degrees from Princeton Theological Seminary and Andover Newton Seminary at Yale Divinity School (formerly Andover Newton Theological School). She is a painter and a poet, and her other published works are three in a series of theological poetry, which you can find out more on by visiting her website, beachtheology.com.