Back to All Events

Silent Nights: Grief, Stress, and Coping During the Holidays

  • Rothko Chapel 3900 Yupon Street Houston, TX 77006 (map)

Silent Nights:
Grief, Stress, and Coping During the Holidays

Thursday, December 7, 2023 | 6:00 PM CT

In person at:
The Rothko Chapel
3900 Yupon Street
Houston, Tx 77006

Free of charge, donations welcome.

For many, the winter holiday season is a time to come together in joy and celebration, yet it is also a time when grief and loss are felt most deeply. The pain of an empty chair at the dinner table, a sudden diagnosis, or unexpected change in traditions can be particularly hard to bear during this nostalgic season.

Co-presented by the Institute and Rothko Chapel, this 10th annual event offers a safe space to hear and share stories of grief and know that you are not alone. We will hear from members of ISH’s bereavement group, engage in a guided journaling meditation experience, and listen to the healing sounds of crystal bowls by the Reverend Gena Davis.

Let us become more mindful of the mental, physical, and spiritual strain ourselves and others face during the holidays, so that we may manage those stresses and take spiritual refreshment from this festive and sacred season as we move into the new year.


Speakers:

Sabrina N’Diaye, PhD, MDiv, LCSW-C

Dr. Sabrina N’Diaye is a therapist, storyteller, peacebuilder, and student of Sufism.

In 2008, she founded the Heart Nest Center for Peace and Healing in Baltimore, Maryland, where she lovingly serves women, couples, small groups, and other healers. Her approach to healing is a blend of wisdom, science, and the sacred Sufi teachings of peace, love, justice, mercy, and freedom. 

For thirteen years, Dr. Sabrina served as a member of a global team of healers with the Center for Mind-Body Medicine, teaching the art of self-care to healthcare professionals and community leaders.  As Center faculty, she responded to community trauma in Las Vegas, Houston, the Pine Ridge Reservation, New York City, Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida, and the Middle East. She also served as the lead faculty for programs in Indianapolis, Central Asia, East Africa, and the US Capitol Police. She, along with two of her colleagues from the Center, recently launched Embracing Buffalo, a project specifically designed to address the aftermath of the May 14, 2022 massacre in East Buffalo.

She recently completed her first book, Big Mama Speaks: Love Lessons from a Harlem River Swan, based on her maternal grandmother’s ability to transcend multiple traumas and chronic illness.

Dr. Sabrina is a devoted wife, mother, daughter, and life-long learner, who remains humbled by the healing power of compassion, love and forgiveness.

The Reverend Gena Davis

The Reverend Gena Davis is a priest and spiritual director. She is a visionary and teacher of Yoga & Yoga Nidra, Crystal Bowl Sound & Energy Healing, and the creator of YogaMass. She was ordained as a priest in the Episcopal Church in 2010 whose calling expanded to lead YogaMass into the wider community and share the message of awakening to and embodying Christ Consciousness. 

Gena’s exploration of energy medicine dates back to 2011 beginning with Reiki training in Bangkok. She expanded into the energy of yoga to integrate yoga into her Christian spiritual life as a pilgrim and a priest. She is advanced certified in multiple healing modalities informed by her early work in human resources and master’s degree in Divinity from the Episcopal Seminary of the Southwest.