Contact: Trudy Johnson, 719-330-4770
BUENA VISTA, Colo., April 5, 2011 /Christian Newswire/ -- "I just want to be a normal person. I'm leaving my husband and the church because I don't want to be in ministry anymore. It's too hard and my heart isn't in it. I want to be a normal person and go to church and not have to be expected to do all the things I did before. I'm tired of being in the spotlight. I'm tired of living in the fishbowl. I'm ready to find peace. I'm ready to be normal whatever that looks like."
These quoted words are by a former pastor's wife counseled by Trudy M. Johnson, MA, a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist in the State of Colorado. Starting her sixth year at a Christian counseling agency, Crossroads Counseling of the Rockies (www.crossroadscounseling.net), Ms. Johnson is involved in both marriage and individual therapy to pastors and their wives.
Trudy sees the steady decline of pastors' wives faith, morals and love for the Lord. Doing research on the subject of pastors' wives, she found few resources or information. She did discover a very telling survey on www.parsonage.org, a Focus on the Family Web site.
The one statistic that stood out over all the rest confirms the isolation that so many of these women expressed in counseling sessions. Nearly 45% of pastor's wives admit they have no close friends. It is this isolation, Johnson believes, that leads them on a downward spiral.
Trudy is the author of many counseling curriculums, including two specialty courses for Master's International School of Divinity (www.mdivs.edu). When she felt the Lord tugging at her heart to develop a counseling curriculum uniquely tailored for pastors' wives, she was up for the challenge.
Johnson will use the counseling plan in a retreat format located at a new facility for ministry leaders in the heart of the Rocky Mountains called "Sanctuary" (www.SanctuaryBV.com). Ms. Johnson named the retreats, "A'nesis Retreats™" (an-NEE-sis) after the Greek word a'nesis that means "comfort for the afflicted, relaxation brought about by a source other than oneself, a liberating rest."
These retreats combine individual and group counseling with a professional therapist in a confidential and exclusive setting. Each retreat is limited to three individual pastors' wives or women in ministry leadership. In addition to the counseling, there will be down times of spiritual renewal and prayer.
A'nesis Retreats™ will begin June 19, 2011.
Go to www.anesisretreats.com for more information.
