The Juneau Unitarian Universalist Fellowship thanks Britta Tonnessen of AWARE for her insightful presentation “Why Faith Matters in Matters of Domestic and Sexual Violence” this past Sunday. After laying out the Alaska-specific statistics about domestic violence and sexual assault (which are appalling), Britta’s presentation turned to how the services provided by AWARE have evolved over time to focus on prevention and inclusivity. She then challenged our congregation to think about interpreting messages from Scripture and the Bible, and to do more to help victims of domestic violence. She identified several ways our small Fellowship can get involved to support healing from the trauma of domestic violence.

This presentation fit perfectly with JUUF’s community-focused worship services, but all faiths should know that Britta can tailor her presentation to fit all congregation sizes and all modes of message delivery, for instance, post-worship coffee hour talk, small group circle discussions, and education to help with pastoral counseling. Since October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month, we highly recommend that all of Juneau’s faith communities avail themselves of Britta’s time and thoughts, as there is much to learn about how we can make Juneau a safe place for everyone.

Thanks to AWARE for sharing this valuable information.