Epiphany: Psychedelics, Christian Community, and the New Search for God

     According to the NIH, over 8% of young adults used psychedelic drugs like LSD and “magic mushrooms” in the past year. Oregon and Colorado have decriminalized psychedelics, along with several cities. Even in North Carolina, the bipartisan House Bill 727 would provide $5,000,000 and legal psychedelic access for institutions like Duke and UNC to study psychedelics as a treatment for PTSD and other mental illnesses.

     These substances can induce cognitive and sensory changes similar to those described by prophets, visionaries, and mystics, and as psychedelics enter the mainstream, those who partake are talking about their experiences. How should the church respond? How should a minister provide pastoral counseling to a veteran who was treated with DMT for PTSD, now claiming to have met Jesus? How should a campus pastor respond if a sophomore asks to give their testimony about converting to Christianity after an LSD trip? What should lay leaders and trusted friends say if someone asks them to be a “trip sitter” during a psychedelic treatment for depression?

   Dive into this brave new world, and join Christian psychedelic educator Kaleb Graves for an evening of discussion and exploration. Learn what psychedelic substances are, the kinds of experiences they can induce, and what these experiences may mean. Journey through church tradition and the scriptures to learn how ministers, lay leaders, parents, and peers can be equipped to provide spiritual and interpersonal care to someone participating in the Psychedelic Renaissance.