This is the fifth post in a mental health series of posts by Lisa Gray. Lisa is a Marriage and Family Therapist with background in the meeting fellowship, and we are honored to have her perspectives featured here on our blog.  One of the things that I noticed when I left the meetings was my startling lack of discernment capabilities. This isn’t unique to meeting culture, but it is a hallmark of high-control religions or groups where developing discernment is not encouraged. D

By Sheralee Jensen This is the third post in a series written for workers transitioning back into civilian life. Sheralee Jensen reflects on her time in the work and the impacts those experiences continue to have on her life. When I was seventeen and living with my parents, having no savings, car, or job was normal. Finding myself in the same situation at age fifty-one was terrifying. That’s the reality for workers leaving the work. We have lost decades of earning capacity, o

Hello to our wonderful Bridges & Balm community! Thank you all for your continued generosity, trust, and unwavering care for those who are vulnerable. Because of you, we’ve been able to provide hope and healing where it’s needed most. As we enter our second holiday season here at Bridges & Balm, we are reminded that a time of year filled with gift-giving, family, and reflection for many of us can also be an especially challenging time for those facing financial and emotional

With this blog post, we are sharing the creative work of Rhonda Nichols. This poem reflects the deep grief of someone who has sacrificed everything for a spiritual sisterhood, only to face loneliness, betrayal, and bodily breakdown, all while holding on to faith and the hope of healing.  It’s the sisterhood she grieves A kinship only known by those who have given up everything Compelled by a calling, a struggle Sometimes bullied, stung by words expressed in secret Living in