Rev. Thirza Sayers currently serves at Hillside Presbyterian (Missouri), leads Light for the Darkness, a mental health ministry and 1001 New Worshiping Community, and co-leads Our Selah, a 1001 New Worshiping Community for clergy. She is working on her Doctorate in Ministry (Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary), researching what hope looks like for people with mental health variances. She has lived with treatment resistant major depressive disorder since 1992. In 2013 following a cluster of traumas--including the suicide of her niece and namesake, she developed disabling PTSD and severe social anxiety. She became catatonic and lost most of her memory including her vocabulary as a side effect of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). She began her journey out of darkness through a combination of daily prayer, yoga, gratitude and affirmations, weekly counseling and connections with friends, monthly psychiatry, volunteerism with her therapy-certified dog. Slowly, she built strength and in 2017 returned to work part-time. Now she is blessed to do ministry full-time.
Links
Experiences
| Fri 10:00am - 10:50am | The Light for the Darkness -1001 | Make Believe |
| Sat 10:00am - 10:50am | Our Selah: a worshipful and supportive, safe space for clergy to connect and refresh | Make Believe |
| Sat 4:00pm - 4:50pm | Thirza Sayers / The Light Force: the power of social and spiritual connection on mental health | Library |