By Bishop Bonnie L. Radden Companionship Coordinator | Pathways 2 Promise There are moments in every person's life when the road becomes difficult. Grief. Loss. Mental health challenges. Illness. Loneliness. Transitions. Unexpected disappointments. While each journey is unique, one truth remains constant: No one was created to walk through life alone. That is why the final month of The Belonging Project carries perhaps its most hope-filled message: You Are Not Alone. These fo

By Rev. Mark Stephenson Executive Director, Pathways to Promise Companionship is a way of presence, a relationship responding to isolation and suffering and supportive of healing and recovery. Companionship is rooted in five practices which build on one another, beginning with Hospitality which offers a safe, sacred space in the personal sense. Companions respect every person as an equal, endowed with dignity and agency to set their own course for their lives. Craig Rennebo

By Craig Rennebohm creator of The Companionship Model. Distress and despair are increasing among us. Suicides have almost doubled over the last two decades. Deaths related to alcohol have more than doubled. Overdose deaths have more than tripled. “In 2023 one in every 30 youth in this country, or about one in every middle school or high school classroom, attempted to end their lives.” (Zahniser & Rennebohm, 2026, p. 12) Focusing on one part of the problem is not enough, becau

By Rev. Mark Stephenson Executive Director, Pathways to Promise In the last blog, I gave an overview of Companionship, and promised to describe its five practices, which begin with hospitality. When picturing hospitality, most of us see ourselves extending an invitation to our homes where we share a meal and conversation. As the first practice of Companionship, The Companionship Movement founder, Rev. Dr. Craig Rennebohm, envisions rest and refreshment flowing out of a much

By Bishop Bonnie L. Radden Companionship Coordinator | Pathways 2 Promise Have you ever walked into a room and wondered if anyone noticed you? Maybe you've attended a community event, a church service, a meeting, or even a family gathering and felt invisible. You smiled. You spoke. You participated. Yet somehow, you still felt like an outsider looking in. If you've ever felt that way, you're not alone. One of the deepest longings of every human heart is the desire to belong.

By Rev. Mark Stephenson Executive Director, Pathways to Promise In his book, Bowling Alone, Robert Putman wrote, “As a rough rule of thumb, if you belong to no groups, but decide to join one, you cut your risk of dying over the next year in half. If you smoke and belong to no groups, it’s a toss-up statistically whether you should stop smoking or start joining. These findings are in some ways heartening: it’s easier to join a group than to lose weight, exercise regularly, or