Tending to the Wounds of the Heart
Written by Pastor Vinicent Holland
You know, when someone falls and skins a knee, we know what to do. We reach for the bandages. When someone’s feeling faint, we call for medical help. But what do we do when someone’s spirit is wounded… when the hurt is invisible, hope has slipped through their fingers, and their faith feels fractured? That’s where Spiritual First Aid steps in.
The Mental Health Association of Fauquier County began this initiative in 2021 and it was drawn from the Spiritual First Aid Training Course developed in Wheaton, Illinois. In June 2023, we launched a small pilot cohort that grew out of the Faith Community Wellness Council. The vision was simple but profound: to bring together faith leaders, caregivers, and community members to equip them to recognize spiritual and emotional distress and to respond with both compassion and skill.
Now, what started with just a few participants in that first group has blossomed into something beautiful. We are now in our fifth cohort. Over these years, 45 graduates have completed the program, representing more than 30 church and community organizations throughout our area. Each one of them now serves as a quiet light within their congregation or organization, ready to notice when someone is struggling and to offer that first gentle word, that listening ear, that prayer of care that can make all the difference.
Our program has been funded by the Northern Piedmont Community Foundation and UVA Health and we’re so grateful for their trust and investment in the wellbeing of this community.
Their support shows that faith and healthcare don’t have to live in separate worlds. They can meet right in the middle, where real people live and hurt and heal.
What makes our program unique is the way we learn. We call it a learning community. It’s not a lecture. It’s not a seminar where you sit and take notes. It’s a circle of conversation, reflection, and mutual encouragement. In this space, pastors learn from nurses. Social workers learn from ministers. Teachers and volunteers learn from one another. That’s where the power is because healing is something we do together.
That community-based approach has been so well received that Bridget Downey and I have had the privilege of sharing our success stories and lessons learned at national conferences and coalitions.
We’ve been able to lift up Fauquier County as an example of how small communities can lead the way in connecting faith and wellness, not as competitors, but as partners in healing.
And I have to pause and thank our amazing team of facilitators: Bridget Downey, Andrea Simmons, Stacey Meyers, and myself, Vini Holland. Each of them brings their own calling, their own professional excellence, and their own heart for people. They are the reason this program doesn’t just survive; it thrives.
You see, what we do isn’t just about information; it’s about transformation. Every session, every conversation, every story we share becomes a chance to restore hope. Participants leave saying things like, “Now I understand what to say when someone’s grieving,” or “I finally know how to sit with someone in their pain without trying to fix it too quickly.”
That’s Spiritual First aid. It’s not about having all the answers; it’s about being present, prepared, and compassionate.
As we look ahead, we’re dreaming even bigger. We envision a network of trained caregivers - people who can meet the spiritual and emotional needs of their neighbors with confidence and care. We see churches that are safer, more welcoming spaces for healing. We see partnerships that cross denominational, racial, and generational lines, all grounded in the belief that every person matters to God.
So if you take one thing from what I’ve shared today, let it be this: Just as our bodies need physical first aid, our souls need spiritual first aid. And just as every community needs doctors and nurses, every community also need people who can tend to the wounds of the heart.
It’s been a joy to watch this work grow from a pilot program to a thriving network of faith and wellness partners. And I believe the best is yet to come.
Thank you and may we continue to care not only for each other, but with one another.
