Cultivating Reverence for Living: A Stress Reduction Program

A Brief History of the Program

Cultivating Reverence for Living: A Stress Reduction Program (CRL) began in the late 1990’s with an Innovation Award from Ascension. The program was developed and facilitated by Dr. Gordon Peerman and Timm Glover, both then of Ascension St. Thomas Hospital in Nashville TN, and included a research component in collaboration with Vanderbilt University.

In fashioning the program, they drew on clinical research from Harvard, Duke, Stanford, and the University of Massachusetts Medical Center. While the Ascension program shared elements with the programs established in these institutions, what sets it apart is the opportunity to connect one’s faith and spirituality (whatever that may be) with care for the body and one’s mental and emotional life.

Virtual Hybrid Program: Building on 20+ Years of Experience

This six-week hybrid version of the CRL program consists of web-based lessons and practices supported by weekly live group sessions using the Zoom meeting platform. Each week’s lessons reside on the Ascension Mission website and may be accessed with any mobile device or personal computer. The materials are presented in video, audio, and written form. As in the in-person offering, participants are encouraged to engage with the materials and practice for 20 minutes each day.

In-Person CRL (Legacy): CRL began in Indiana in 2002 and is currently in its 76th cohort. Participants in the in-person program have reported an overall 18.75% reduction in perceived stress.
Phone CRL Pilot (2016): In an effort to reach more associates due to proximity, we began piloting first a phone-only option in 2016. Participants in this pilot reported an overall 5.25% reduction in perceived stress.
Zoom Pilot (2021): In 2021, we piloted the program via Zoom and a Google shared site. Participants reported a 5% reduction in perceived stress.
Virtual Hybrid CRL (2022): In 2022, we piloted this version of the program which includes a mix of asynchronous and synchronous (weekly Zoom calls) experiential content. Participants reported a 15% reduction in perceived stress.

Would You Like To:

Quiet racing thoughts and get to sleep?
Be more patient and less irritable with yourself and others?
Have some sense of being in control?
Be more present with those who you serve?
Reduce negative feelings?
Increase contentment and joy in living?

Cultivating Reverence for Living is:

A mind-body-spirit, practice-based program rooted in mindfulness with a 20+ year Ascension history
A first of its kind, including both live and at-your-own-pace online elements
A seven-week commitment with live weekly sessions, online lessons, and at-home practice of 20 minutes six days per week.

Date	Content
2/26/25	Getting Started: Introduction to Program
3/5/25	Week 1: Introduction to Mindful Living
3/12/25	Week 2: Taking Hold of Your Mind: Mental Noting
3/19/25	Week 3: Emotion Regulation Skills
3/26/25	Week 4: Distress Tolerance Skills
4/2/25	Week 5: Interpersonal Effectiveness Skills
4/9/25	Week 6: A Practice for Life: Unconditional Friendliness
4/16/25	Follow-Up and Course Completion

Carol Filkins

Instructor

Carol Filkins, MS, serves as a Manager of Ministry Formation, Mission Integration at Ascension St. Vincent Indiana. She has over 30 years experience providing programs and services, in group and one-on-one settings, for the target audience of people experiencing stress and/or wanting to develop additional stress reduction practices. Carol has a Masters in Wellness Management with an emphasis in counseling psychology. Since 2001 she has primarily focused her professional efforts in the area of learning and facilitating stress reduction programs and practices. Carol is a Wellcoaches® Certified Health and Well-being Coach, certified Enneagram facilitator, and has Advanced Certification in the field of Formative Spirituality. Carol has co-facilitated Cultivating Reverence for Living since 2001.

Daniel Jackson

Instructor

Daniel B. Jackson, LCSW, has provided mental health counseling to individuals, families, and children, presented educational seminars in a diverse group of businesses, provided consultation to supervisors, and consulted with companies to assist them in achieving human resource goals. He has engaged in fact finding to assist executives in crucial decision making and played a major role in business development and marketing within EAP. Now retired, Dan previously served on the following committees: Stress Reduction, Cultural Competency, Diversity and EAP Marketing. Dan has co-facilitated Cultivating Reverence for Living since 2001.

Bob Vahary

Instructor

Bob Vahary, MSW, LCSW, OSW-C, OPN-CG, is a patient navigator working for St Vincent Cancer Care since 2003. He has a master’s degree in social work and has been a Licensed Clinical Social Worker for 30 years. Bob’s background includes counseling, pain management, stress reduction, biofeedback, and he has an Advanced Certification in Formative Spirituality. Bob has received the Healing Spirit award from the Cancer Support Community and is an Oncology Certified Social Worker through the Association of Oncology Social Workers. Bob was certified in 2016 as an Oncology Patient Navigator through the Academy of Oncology Nurse and Patient Navigators. Bob has co-facilitated Cultivating Reverence for Living since 2001.

Wendy Lemasters

Instructor

Wendy LeMasters, PharmD, has over 15 years of experience as a preceptor for pharmacy students. She serves in many management roles including business development and associate engagement. Wendy has been a mindfulness practitioner since 2009 and has co-facilitated Cultivating Reverence for Living since 2015.

Laura Guzzi

Instructor

Laura Guzzi, MSW, LCSW, has over 29 years of experience working with individuals and families in the health care setting as a medical social worker. Laura became a Certified Infant Massage Instructor in 2003 and has been providing training for parents since that time. In addition, she has pursued training in mental health, critical incident stress management, mindfulness, aromatherapy and integrative therapy techniques and has been incorporating these techniques in her work with patients, their families and the broader community. She has worked with local middle school educators and parents to address the topic of anxiety in the middle school setting, with emphasis on incorporating mindfulness tools. In May of 2012, Laura worked with St. Vincent Carmel Leadership to develop Carmel’s Integrative Therapy Program. In 2017, Laura developed a support group for mothers experiencing post partum mood disorders which serves families throughout the Indianapolis area. Laura was recognized in January of 2020 as one of the nation’s 10 Most Dedicated Social Workers by Social Work Today Magazine. Laura has co-facilitated Cultivating Reverence for Living since 2015.

Will Boesl

Facilitator

Will Boesl, MA serves as a Formation Manager at Ascension. With certification and education in the Enneagram, meditation, prayer, labyrinth, and spiritual direction, they enjoy working with a wide variety of individuals and groups seeking to deepen their spirituality. Integrating their vocation of deep listening, Will is passionate about the connection between spirituality and creative expression. They have a Master of Arts in Spiritual Formation with a focus in Spiritual Direction and creativity from Seminary of the Southwest and a Bachelor of Arts in Communication and Business minor from Texas A&M University.