Rachel’s Vineyard helps participants experience God’s love and compassion on a deeply profound level. It creates a place where women and men can share, often for the first time, their deepest feelings about abortion. They are allowed to uncover troubling secrets in an environment of emotional and spiritual safety.
New Heart of Texas is a Ministry that guides women and men through a healing process to find wholeness and forgiveness from the pain of abortion through Rachel’s Vineyard Retreats. Rachel’s Vineyard is a safe place to renew, rebuild and redeem hearts broken by abortion. These retreats offer a supportive, confidential, and non-judgmental environment where women and men can express, release, and reconcile painful emotions and begin the process of restoration, renewal, and healing.
Rachel’s Vineyard Retreats are therapeutic for the soul. Participants, who have been trapped in anger towards themselves or others, experience forgiveness. Peace is found. Lives are restored. A sense of hope and a meaningful future is finally revealed.
Theresa Karminski Burke, Ph. D., is the author and founder of Rachel’s Vineyard. In 1995, she expanded her original Bible-based curriculum into a format for abortion recovery retreats. Soon individuals seeking healing began to travel from other states to experience this very effective healing process. The retreats began to spread across the country because of their dramatic effectiveness. Currently, Rachel’s Vineyard is held in 375 locations and over 70 countries, with many new sites in development. Rachel’s Vineyard was named after Rachel, the wife of Jacob, who mourned the loss of her children in the book of Jeremiah.
Thus says the Lord:
This is what the Lord says: “A voice is heard in Ramah, mourning and great weeping, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted because they are no more.”
This is what the Lord says: “Restrain your voice from weeping and your eyes from tears, for your work will be rewarded,” declares the Lord.
JEREMIAH 31:15-16
Rachel’s Vineyard uses the vineyard to symbolize a place where grapes are grown, pruned, and nurtured so they can bear a more bountiful harvest. Perhaps the most significant association with the vine comes from the powerful and moving words of Jesus found in Chapter 15 of the Gospel of John:
Prayer is an integral part of our retreat. We are seeking prayer warriors to commit to praying for each and every hour we are at the retreat. We need prayer for the retreat, the leaders, the participants, and their families and the circumstances surrounding their attendance. If you are able to dedicate as little as 30 minutes to prayer during our upcoming retreat please sign up. Your faithfulness means so much to us! Two weeks prior to each retreat we will post a Prayer Vigil Sign-up sheet so that our prayer warriors, like yourself, can pray for us.
“I came to the Rachel’s Vineyard Retreat not even knowing or understanding how deeply my abortion impacted me. I had kept it a secret for twenty years. God started bringing things to mind over the past year and I know it was time to address my deepest darkest secret. God revealed to me many roots of hardened areas of my heart. Things like shame, unworthiness, anger, unforgiveness, and jealousy were revealed to me during the weekend. Through the exercises and scriptures, I was able to be set free from the bondage I’ve been living in for the past years. I was able to acknowledge the precious life of my two babies, one aborted and one miscarried. I learned to separate the act of abortion and the life of my baby. I feel able to move forward into the life Christ has called me to. This weekend gave me freedom and forgiveness.”
“From the time I had my abortion at the age of nineteen up until now at the age of 24 I have felt lost, alone, confused, angry, and undeserving of God’s love and acceptance. When I first heard of the Rachel’s Vineyard Retreat, I was both apprehensive and nervous. Upon arriving, I was sweetly greeted by the team. The entire staff was amazing! I have learned so much not only about myself but also about my aborted child and the grief I have never allowed myself to feel. I now have both closure and peace thanks to Rachel’s Vineyard.”
“I’m thankful to God for the opportunity to attend the Rachel’s Vineyard Retreat. I really didn’t know what to expect after I agreed to accompany my wife. I was nervous and apprehensive but when we arrived, we were greeted with love by the team serving on the retreat. As we proceeded through the retreat, God showed me areas of sin and pain that were holding me bondage. Through the process God showed me how to confront and confess the pain and sin. God replaced these with His love and forgiveness. New Heart of Texas/Rachel’s Vineyard was life changing and I am grateful for the experience with God and the blessing I received from my brothers and sisters in Christ.”
