Church hosts ‘scream night’

A church in North Carolina recently hosted a “scream night,” allowing people to literally scream about their frustrations, especially regarding the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Duke Memorial United Methodist Church of Durham held the event on Saturday evening, with around a dozen people in attendance, raising their voices over a host of issues.

The Rev. Laura Barnard Crosskey, the event organiser and a licensed psychologist, told The Christian Post that the church hosted the “scream night” because “our emotions have been building up over the last two years as many of us have been stuck at home without our normal outlets that let our emotions move through our bodies and our brains.”

“We wanted to provide people with a space to let it out with the intention of knowing that they were not alone in their struggles or in their efforts to heal,” she added.

According to Crosskey, the observance was divided into five literal screams. The first involved a “regular scream,” followed by a scream in which participants were allowed to curse.

Then, participants screamed statements such as, “My partner is driving me crazy!” or, “I hate Covid!” followed by a scream for those who could not make it to the event. Finally, attendees participated in a “friendly competition” over who could scream the longest.

“Then I invited people to get quiet, to notice their bodies and their breaths. To notice how the scream resonated in our bodies,” explained Crosskey to CP.

“To feel the connection with others in our shared struggles and shared efforts to heal. Then I invited people to linger as they wished and go in peace as they were ready.”

Participants want to do the event again, according to Crosskey, though there is a preference for scheduling at a time more convenient for parents of little kids.

(Christian Post)