(Previously published on the Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of Saskatoon website; used with permission)
By Fr. Jeffrey D. Stephaniuk, Chaplain, Rachel’s Vineyard
When His Beatitude Sviatoslav Shevchuk, Patriarch of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church visited Saskatchewan last year, he made a comment regarding his first-hand experience living in war. This simple statement cut to the core of our human response to imminent and existential threat: I don’t want to die.
In times of extreme stress, in times of trauma, our deepest feelings are sometimes encapsulated in phrases such as these.
Rachel’s Vineyard is a ministry devoted to the spiritual, psychological, and emotional healing of women and men who have experienced the trauma of abortion. In our work, we call such phrases core statements.
These sorts of statements cut to the core of the person. In our ministry, we often hear statements of regret: how could I have done this; of longing: I miss my baby; and of fear: am I a good person?
A counsellor can explore such phrases for healing and meaning. Their job is to place the experienced trauma – abortion – in the context of one’s life and to replace unhealthy coping mechanisms to those which re-frame in healthy and liberating ways.
Rachel’s Vineyard puts on retreats that bring the gospel and psychological and emotional counselling together.
The three days of the weekend correspond to the Great and Holy Triduum. On the Friday, we experience death; Saturday, the quiet of the tomb; and Sunday, resurrection and newness of life. We sit with Our Lord saying to us: Is there no one here to condemn you? Then neither do I condemn you. We see him heal the hemorrhaging women who reached out and touched his cloak.
Every element of the retreat is meant to convey a truth to the participants – that they deserve better than the experiences that led them to have an abortion. Embracing their worth and dignity, embracing the goodness of God, gives our participants the ability to start healing from what can be considerable trauma. This trauma includes the abortion itself – but it often also includes pressures, guilt, fear, and feelings of hopelessness.
The retreat also focuses on the need for community in the process of healing. The retreats involve people of different ages and life experiences as well as the incorporation of non-verbal exercises which can help a participant look at, work on, and heal trauma.
Brain science tells us that re-living something traumatic is sometimes too overwhelming. That is why we encourage participants to explore the trauma together – sometimes this does not need language to fill in the gaps. Understanding of mutual experiences sometimes makes words unnecessary.
The founder of this ministry, Dr. Theresa Burke, created Rachel’s Vineyard as a means to heal and transform trauma by revisiting the initial wounds. Women who have gone through our program have found, in time, a life of healing, liberation, and learned to remember the baby that was lost in life- giving ways.
Returning to the Patriarch’s core statement, moments of trauma – extremely stressful situations of life and death in the life of a person can affect the entirety of their lives. Our job is to provide a place for expressing grief, finding healing, and growing in one’s sense of being loved.
We pray that all our participants can hear Our Lord speak to them the same words that He spoke to Lazarus, who had been dead in the tomb for four days: Lazarus, Come forth!
The autumn retreat for Rachel’s Vineyard Saskatchewan will be held on October 2-4, 2026; contact Elaine Webster at r.vineyardsk@sasktel.net or 306-480-8911.
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Fr. Jeffrey Steffaniiuk is a priest in the Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of Saskatoon, who serves as a chaplain at Rachel’s Vineyard retreats in Saskatchewan.