Episode 17: Re-connecting with Faith + Self with Samuel Kim
Samuel Kim is a Korean American Associate Marriage and Family Therapist. He obtained his M.S. in marriage and family therapy from Fuller’s School of Psychology and graduated from Wheaton College with a B.A. in psychology. He currently works at Oak and Stone Therapy, where he sees individual and couple clients struggling with depression, anxiety, trauma, and relational conflict. His experience includes work in private practice, community mental health, faith-based, and school settings.
A significant part of Samuel Kim’s passion for his work comes from his multicultural background. Aside from being born in a Korean immigrant family, Samuel grew up in southern China as a missionary kid from when he was 5 years old to when he graduated high school. He gained more awareness of his racial identity in college, where he also met his spouse, Sara Pineda, a Honduran international student. As a result of his multiple identities, Samuel is passionate about supporting people navigating their racial, spiritual, and cultural identities, and he loves working with people in non-profit or helping professions.
As a missionary kid, Samuel attended Christian schools all the way through graduate school except for one year in 4th grade. A few years ago, due to challenges with the U.S. church, Samuel chose to take a step back from organized religion. Recently, he has slowly and cautiously started to re-enter church community again, balancing connection with others while remaining authentic to his own faith and self.
About Your Hosts
David N. Moore is a University of California Santa Barbara alum and leads Santa Barbara’s Beloved Community Church, and also Jesus Collective, an online community which exists to foster wholeness and equity by healing relationships and cultural divides, honoring the dignity of all peoples, and protecting the biodiversity of our planet, through actively listening, understanding, partnering, and serving. He is the author of Making America Great Again: Fairy Tale? Horror Story? Dream Come True? Learn more at www.davidnmoore.com
Kerry Connelly, (she / her) MDiv, CCLC is the author of Good White Racist? Confronting Your Role in Racial Injustice and Wait, Is This Racist? A Guide to Becoming an Antiracist Church. Kerry holds her Master of Divinity from Christian Theological Seminary in Indianapolis, where she is currently pursuing her Doctorate of Ministry. She is a Certified Coach with additional certifications in DISC personality styles, conflict resolution (Cornell University), + she is a NYC Leadership Fellow. Passionate about all things spiritual, she is also trained in a number of intuitive energy healing modalities, including traditional Usui Reiki and Angel Reiki. When she is not consulting with predominantly White churches to help them deconstruct White pseudosupremacy in their daily operations, she is working 1:1 with clients to help them connect with their own higher guidance and to live deeply intuitive lives. You can learn more about Kerry at www.kerryconnelly.com.
