Saranac Lake, NY, Mar 22, 2012 — You'll have a chance to show off that favorite, wild hat at Bluseed Studios in Saranac Lake on Friday night (5:30 pm). Judges will pick the craziest, most entertaining hats and the Mad Hatter's Party will also support programs for women living with cancer, chronic diseases and whose spouses are serving in the military.

Creative Healing Connections has provided retreats in the Adirondacks for women for the past 14 years and proceeds from Friday's event will fund scholarships.

Todd Moe spoke with Naj Wikoff, president of Creative Healing Connections, about Friday's Mad Hatter's Party and how the arts can be used as a tool for healing.  Go to full article

Saranac Lake, NY, Aug 30, 2010 — Since the 1960s, the hospice movement has been working to give Americans more options and more choices when they reach the end of their lives.

The idea is that even after we know we're dying, we can make decisions that shape the quality of our remaining time.

High Peaks Hospice and Palliative Care serves patients across a huge swath of the North Country, from Warren County all the way to St. Lawrence County.

Brian Mann has been working with the organization to profile one family that has entered the program, the Gallaghers in Saranac Lake.

In the weeks ahead, Brian's series will follow the Gallagher family, telling the story of their lives and their work with hospice.  Go to full article

Saranac Lake, NY, Apr 19, 2010 — A broad-based coalition of community leaders and veteran advocates are working to bring a first-of-its-kind retreat and reintegration facility for veterans, active military personnel and their families to Saranac Lake. Patriot Hills at Saranac Lake involves construction of a $30 million hotel and conference center that would host a wide range of support programs, counseling and services for military personnel and their families from across the Northeast. While it still has plenty of hurdles to overcome, organizers say the project would build on Saranac Lake's history as a pioneering health resort by making the village a center for veteran healing. As Chris Knight reports, the project could also breathe new life into the local economy.  Go to full article

Raquette Lake, NY, Sep 10, 2009 — The annual Arts and Healing Retreat for Women has expanded to include two events in the Adirondacks this fall. Todd Moe has a preview.  Go to full article

Tupper Lake, NY, Jun 23, 2009 — An Adirondack group that combines the arts and healing begins its eleventh season this summer. The annual gathering at Great Camp Sagamore for women with cancer and chronic illness uses music, visual arts, yoga, writing, storytelling and nature walks to help women deal with their disease. Women at the Arts and Healing retreat say the rural setting of Great Camp Sagamore helps them slow down and focus. There are two retreats this year at Camp Sagamore and Piseco Lake. Creative Healing Connections co-founder and storyteller Fran Yardley tells Todd Moe that this year also marks a new chapter; the group is offering a retreat for women veterans dealing with issues from active duty in the first Gulf War, Iraq, Afghanistan and Vietnam.  Go to full article

May 29, 2008 — The Adirondack Arts and Healing Retreat begins its tenth season this summer. The annual gathering at Great Camp Sagamore for women with cancer and chronic illness uses music, visual arts, yoga, writing, storytelling and nature walks to help women deal with their disease. Women at the Arts and Healing retreat say the rural setting of Great Camp Sagamore helps them slow down and focus. There are two retreats this summer, in July and September. Retreat co-founder and storyteller Fran Yardley tells Todd Moe that this year also marks a new chapter; the organization has a new name, "Creative Healing Connections, Inc." and a website. For more information, call Fran at 518-359-9324, or Sagamore at 315-354-5311.  Go to full article

Feb 02, 2007 — Ginny Luedeman, a member of the Christian Science Board of Lectureship, will give a speech titled "Plain Talk About How Spirituality Heals" Monday evening (8 pm) in Griffiths Arts Center, at St. Lawrence University. The event, co-sponsored by the University chaplain's office and the First Church of Christ Scientist in Potsdam, is free open to the public. Luedeman lives in Salem, Oregon, and was a member of a '60s rock band when she began to explore the writings of Christian Science founder Mary Baker Eddy. She spoke with Todd Moe.  Go to full article

Oct 12, 2006 — In Brian Mann's report yesterday on faith healing in a Saranac Lake Episcopal Church, he noted a recent report in The American Heart Journal that showed that intercessory prayer had no impact on the health of patients undergoing heart surgery. It was a widely awaited study that was supposed to be more scientifically rigorous than previous studies. But one of its co-authors says the implications of the report have been exaggerated. Father Dean Marek is director of chaplain services at Mayo Clinic in Minnesota. He told Gregory Warner the study dealt specifically with the power of intercessory prayer by strangers. But a sense of faith or religious conviction, he says, has been shown to have a healing power.  Go to full article

May 16, 2006 — In 1999, a group of artists and health educators got together to offer the first annual Adirondack Arts and Healing Retreat for women with cancer and chronic illness. The retreat gives women who are struggling with life changing diseases the chance to tell their stories and develop a sense of connection, meaning and empowerment. They use words, music, movement and laughter to create bonds -- and realize that they are not alone. Storyteller Fran Yardley spoke with Martha Foley.

The 8th annual fall retreat will be held at Great Camp Sagamore September 15-17. A new spring session, June 23-25, is designed specifically to welcome new participants. For more information, call 518-359-9324.  Go to full article

Nov 27, 2001 — What's in a word? Quite a lot in the view of commentator Paul Willcott. Especially if the word is "healing."  Go to full article