Above: From left, Jeremy Langill, executive minister for the Rhode Island State Council of Churches, Christine King, and Donnie Anderson.
Article Published by The East Greenwich News
The Rhode Island State Council of Churches honored East Greenwich resident Christine King Oct. 31 at its annual Heroes of Faith event with the Donnie Anderson Compassion Award.
King, a long-time local who lives in and grew up in East Greenwich, works and volunteers all over Rhode Island blending her skills and training in psychoanalytic counseling, Kingian nonviolence, and faith-based spirituality to help reduce suffering and improve the human condition.
Currently the director of Behavioral Health at the Wood River Health Center serving rural Washington County, King previously served as the executive director of the Interfaith Counseling Center, where she worked closely with the Nonviolence Institute in the urban parts of Rhode Island.
“Her leadership skills and development of community connections have created a network of trauma healing services in the Providence area,” the Wood River Health Center said of her. “While trained as a counselor, she has blended her knowledge of the field and practice with leadership and community development to create partnerships, referral paths, and collaborative services to provide accessible and barrier free care to those in need.”
Locally, King is helping to continue the work that Bob Houghtaling, the revered long-time counselor who passed away last year, did for East Greenwich. She worked closely with Houghtaling before his untimely and unexpected death and is assisting the town in finding his replacement. King is also the chairwoman of the East Greenwich Academy Foundation, a local nonprofit Houghtaling had led that helps local kids and families who are struggling.
The annual Heroes of Faith breakfast fundraiser recognizes “the important work that people of faith across Rhode Island have accomplished to advance our mission of justice, love, and peace,” according to the R.I. Council of Churches, an ecumenical faith-based organization that “serves as a faith-based voice for justice, an advocate for those who have no voice, a resource for individuals, congregations, denominations, and civic organizations.”
The Donnie Anderson Compassion Award also has an East Greenwich connection. Anderson was the pastor at EG’s First Baptist Church before she served as executive minister for RISCC.
