Multi-Faith Pastoral Counseling
Eleanor
Harrison
Bregman
M.Div.
Helping Couples and Families Navigate the Complexity of Multi-Faith Life and Relationships
What do I do?
I accompany individuals and families as they explore, celebrate and navigate the challenges, complexity and beauty of multiple religious traditions in a household or extended family. Some couples are just beginning to discuss their interfaith relationships. Others are approaching marriage and navigating the process of creating a ceremony. Others are beginning to explore how they will raise children - or are making different choices about this as their children grow older. Still others are parents of young adults wrestling with the religious/spiritual choices their grown children are making. I help individuals, couples, parents, and grandparents navigate these complex and sometimes difficult waters.
I offer pastoral care and spiritual direction, which is, at its heart, accompanying someone as they encounter - or yearn to encounter - the divine. We create space together for “holy listening” to hear, feel, and touch sacred places and to find spiritual practices and resources that will enable the seeker to deepen their spiritual journey. In some cases clients are experiencing sudden life changes (loss of a loved one, illness, birth, job transitions) and are looking for spiritual guidance, support, and resources. Clients may also be considering converting to another religion and want an unbiased source of guidance as they discern.
I officiate weddings of all kinds (including for interfaith, and/or queer couples, and/or SBNR (spiritual but not religious) and enjoy crafting ceremonies in partnership with couples so that the ceremony reflects who they are as individuals and as a couple. I have officiated at many, many weddings over the last 20 years and am comfortable co-officiating as well.
Who am I?
I grew up in an Episcopal Church in Savannah, GA, received a BA in Religion from Princeton University, and a Master of Divinity from Union Theological Seminary. I completed four units of Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) and was ordained as a Christian minister (UCC) in 2009. I studied for two years at the Radical Aliveness Institute, a somatically-based therapeutic and leadership school for practitioners who want to work with all levels of human experience (emotions, sensations, movement, beliefs, spirituality, culture and systems) in their healing professions. I have completed an Embodied Relationship Mentoring training with Brian and Marcia Gleason. After a long discernment process, I converted to Judaism in early 2024.The work I do is very personal. For the last 24 years I have navigated interfaith family life myself, raising three Jewish children with my husband Peter. This journey has been my greatest joy and teacher as I have experienced just about every aspect of interfaith family life myself. While I do not impose my own journey or experiences onto others, I do source my passion and compassion from my own interfaith family experiences. And I continue to find beauty, blessings, and challenges in navigating multiple religious traditions in my life, community and world.
I bring a wealth of experience...
As Director of Multi-Faith Initiatives at Romemu, a synagogue in New York City, I
- supported interfaith and multi-faith families through individual and couples pastoral sessions
- led interfaith couples workshops and officiated at life cycle events
- facilitated monthly sessions for the multi-faith community on navigating holidays and life cycle events, and on spiritual identity formation and belonging
- led multiple discussion series for non-Jewish parents raising Jewish children
- facilitated group sessions for those grieving the loss of loved ones
- produced an annual multi-faith musical service, Sacred Sounds, to expand the centrality of deep respect for all faith traditions in the Romemu community
- published in Huff Post and Kveller on topics relating to interfaith family lifeAs a chaplain, I
- supported the spiritual needs of the residents at Jewish Home Lifecare, a nursing facility in New York City for people of all faith backgrounds
- led women’s retreats on deepening spiritual practices and led retreats studying sacred texts with Jews and Christians.
- served the spiritual needs of a diverse community including the homeless, drug addicted, and the hospitalized at a non-profit in Savannah, GA.
Let's connect. I'd like to hear more.
Email or call to set up a free 15 minute consultation.One hour sessions are $150, either in person in NYC or on Zoom.914-409-9740
