A “Spiritual Healing Retreat for Veterans” will be held at the Monastery of the Holy Spirit from July 16-19.

This ecumenical healing retreat is open to all veterans suffering from the trauma of war and post-traumatic stress disorder. The objective of the retreat is to help veterans heal through releasing long-suppressed anger, grieving for lost friends and receiving forgiveness for repressed guilt in a healing ceremony. There will also be a spouses roundtable to discuss living with PTSD and family dysfunction.

Workshop topics include: “Journaling to Heal,” by Father James A. Farris; “Anger and Forgiveness,” by Father Anthony Delisi, OCSO; “Strength Through Suffering,” by Father Gerard Gross, OCSO, “Spouses Roundtable,” facilitated by Kimberly Walker; and “The Journey Home,” by Father Delisi.

A grief ceremony will led by Lt. Col. Dan McDaniels, retired U.S. Army chaplain. The healing ceremony, including an “anointment of forgiveness,” will be led by Father Gross and Father Ted Johnson, who served as a chaplain in the U.S. Navy for 20 years.

The retreat will be facilitated by Andy Farris, a Vietnam veteran, parishioner of St. Brigid Church, Johns Creek, and the founder of HealingVeterans.org, a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping America’s veterans heal spiritually from the trauma of war.