Hospice of Santa Barbara Virtual Speaker Series: Illuminate Presents Katy Butler

As local nonprofits are adapting to find new ways to serve their clients and causes, Hospice of Santa Barbara (HSB) has adjusted to the new realities that come with COVID-19 by creating their illuminate Speaker Series – a series which not only addresses aspects of the COVID-19 pandemic but also offers help to those struggling to understand their place in this new reality. 

One way the organization is transitioning to serve is to provide helpful resources to our community and beyond as they relate to COVID-19. In 2020, Roshi Joan Halifax kicked off the series with “Integrity and Moral Resilience in a Time of Suffering” and went over the deep necessity of integrity as the foundation for moral resilience – a topic critical for these challenging times. Followed was Frank Ostaseski who presented  “Grief – A Path to Wholeness” and explored our cultural habit to manage grief and the importance in the healing process of allowing the constellation of responses to loss. 

This month, on Thursday, January 21, 2021 at 6 PM PDT, award-winning medical journalist and author, Katy Butler will presentRitual and Resilience: Building Meaning and Connection in a World Turned Upside Down during HSB’s FREE Virtual Event. 

Registration Link: https://zoom.us/webinar/register/3316105728295/WN_p5eI_MYIR-C6U5pwhZTXYQ

In this webinar, Butler will explore the value of rituals, share examples from her book, “The Art of Dying Well,” and offer ways to create simple homegrown rituals with special meaning for you. She will also facilitate an inspiring “virtual” ceremony to share in a feeling of community and timeless sacred connection. Please bring a candle to your computer to light during the closing ceremony. 

“As we continue to stay home, it is crucial for HSB to come together and create a community through theilluminateSpeaker Series. Butler will go over the importance of rituals and speak on topics that relate to the current state of the world,” said David Selberg, CEO of Hospice of Santa Barbara. “Our series aims to provide the community with the right tools necessary as we continue to navigate through the pandemic.” 

HSB established the illuminate Speaker Series to address many of the struggles we all face that have been heightened during the pandemic. As we all know, people are reeling from this world-wide crisis emotionally, socially, and economically. People have shared a variety of intense feelings they are experiencing during this time, among them: fear, deep sadness, anxiety, grief, uncertainty over the present and what the future holds, vulnerability, despair, anger, hopelessness. They will have a new nationally-known speaker every month. 

The series will continue with Sharon Salzberg in February, Dr. BJ Miller in March, Dr. Sunita Puri in April and Jenée Johnson in May. The remainder of the 2021 Speaker Series will be announced in the coming months. Hospice of Santa Barbara would like to give a special thanks to Natalie Orfalea Foundation and Lou Buglioli and Ridley-Tree Cancer Center for sponsoring this event.   

To find out more, and register for the event, please visit: http://www.hospiceofsb.org/hsbseries  

Hospice of Santa Barbara 

Hospice of Santa Barbara provides professional counseling, support groups, and patient care services free of charge to individuals and families who are grieving the death of a loved one or experiencing the impact of a life-threatening illness. Hospice of Santa Barbara also provides counseling in our offices and on fifteen local junior and high school campuses to children and teens who are grieving the loss of a loved one. For more information about Hospice of Santa Barbara, including volunteer opportunities, call (805) 563-8820 or visit www.hospiceofsantabarbara.org.