Heidi Gessner

Heidi Gessner, MDiv, BCC, is an ordained United Church of Christ minister, life transition guide & coach, teacher, and former end-of-life professional. With nearly 20 years of experience as a palliative care and bereavement chaplain at a level one trauma center, she has provided emotional and spiritual support to countless individuals and families. Heidi developed the University of North Carolina Hospitals Adult Bereavement Support Services and has facilitated numerous grief support groups and writing workshops. Her book, Pockets of Grace: Lessons from Darkness, Lessons from Light, encapsulates the wisdom gleaned from her personal and professional journey, offering readers a compassionate guide through life's transitions. Pockets of Grace: Lessons from Darkness, Lessons from Light, was just reviewed by Elevate Society and contains an impressive summary. Does that work? Here is the review: https://elevatesociety.com/pockets-of-grace-summary-review/.

Articles:

My Run-in with the Divine

My Run-in with the Divine As I drove teary-eyed in the twilight, I panicked, how in the world did I wind up here? How did my life end up like this? This wasn’t how I imagined my life would be when I was younger. In that very instant, I had an incredibly intense feeling that someone was in my car with me. So much so, that I whipped my head around to look in the back seat to see who was there. Of course, I was alone, but also, not-alone. I sensed something or someone with me — intangible, yet […]

Communications at the Edge of Death

Communications at the Edge of Death There is an incredible story about how Tiffany got her new lungs. First, she was on the donor waiting list forever. Then one day she got a call that there were lungs available for her. After many tests and lots of preparation, Tiffany bravely went underwent surgery for her new set of lungs. Lying in her hospital bed, after her operation was over, every orifice of her ravaged body was plugged into a machine. She couldn’t move or speak, since she had a tube down her throat breathing for her. Yet Tiffany felt grateful […]

Five Ways to Get Through the Holidays (When You’re Not Feeling Ho Ho Hopeful)

Five Ways to Get Through the Holidays Holidays can be difficult when someone you love has died. Or you’ve lost your job. Or an important relationship has ended. It can be hard to watch others being joyful and merry while your life feels joyless. You may need to be more intentional about your plans this year. Here are 5 innovative ways you can get through (and maybe even enjoy them). Light a candle. Engage in a meaningful ritual. Set aside some intentional quiet time to think of your loved one (and your life). Perhaps write a letter letting him or […]

Four Things that Helped Me When my Friend, Sarah, Died

“If I had a flower or every time I thought of you, I could walk through my garden forever.” — Alfred Tennyson “I have some sad news about my sister and your old friend, Sarah. Last Friday she lost her two year battle with Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma. I didn’t want you to find out on Facebook or randomly months later.” That is the recent text I received from Sarah’s brother about my childhood summer friend. I didn’t know Sarah was sick. We were supposed to get together last summer while I was vacationing on Cape Cod, but I canceled. Too much […]

Don’t the Dead Take their Time Leaving?

After my father died, I became fascinated about where he went. Someone came to take his body out of our house and to a funeral home. He was cremated and his remains were put into an urn. But he was gone. Gone where? Where was the essence of him? I remember my siblings, mother and I all gathered around his hospital bed in our den. His yellow face dropped to the side as he took one last sucking inhalation. We waited for another one, but it didn’t come. His mouth was still partly open. One thing I knew—he was no […]

Father’s Death Helps Woman Find God and Vocation

I am the Palliative Care Chaplain and Bereavement Coordinator for The University of North Carolina Hospitals in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. My interest in working with the dying and bereaved began with my own father’s illness and death in 1994. My story is one of transformation, when for the first time God’s presence was palpable. God found me on my way to visit my ill father. A strange and holy presence arrived in my Honda that afternoon and stayed right beside me. Besides feeling this presence, I also experienced multiple synchronistic events through friends, music and books. Someone was directing […]