You have carried enough.
Let’s set it DOWN.
Grief doesn’t shrink just because no one asks about it anymore. Healing isn’t about pretending “it” didn’t happen—it’s about having the space to respond to the Spirit’s invitation. Acknowledge truth. Feel It. Set down the burden. Be held and comforted. And finally live safe and free. If this speaks to you --- even a whisper ---you are not alone"
About Our Founder
Rev. Dr. Claudette A. Copeland is the Founder of The Women’s Educational and Healing Retreats Inc. (W.E.H.R.) and a nationally respected pastor, scholar, author, and advocate for women’s healing, wholeness, and spiritual formation. Since 2017, her work through W.E.H.R. has focused on creating safe, transformative spaces for education, restoration, and wellness for underserved women across the nation.
Dr. Copeland received her undergraduate education at the University of Connecticut, earning a Bachelor of Arts degree with a concentration in Psychology. She went on to complete her Master of Divinity in Pastoral Care and Counseling at the Interdenominational Theological Center in Atlanta, Georgia, graduating summa cum laude. She earned her Doctor of Ministry degree from United Theological Seminary in Dayton, Ohio, where she later served for several years as a Visiting Professor and Mentor for doctoral students. In addition, she completed Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) training and was a founding member of the Racial and Ethnic Minority Task Force, designed to ‘educate the educators’ on ways race and gender influence ministry in clinical settings. She also holds a Postdoctoral Certificate in Homiletics from Oxford University in the United Kingdom.
Ordained to ministry at the age of 27 and licensed as an evangelist at 18, Dr. Copeland has served in full-time ministry throughout her adult life. Her formative years in the Church of God in Christ in Buffalo, New York, shaped her theological grounding, commitment to scripture, and sensitivity to the work of the Holy Spirit. Her ministry experience includes serving as a Social Worker until 1979, a church planter, and a short-term foreign missionary to Haiti, Liberia, South Africa, Kenya, and Ghana within the global church. Dr. Copeland served her country by leading our US Armed Forces members as a 1st Lieutenant in the US Air Force.
Dr. Copeland is a published author and contributing writer to numerous journals and faith-based publications. Her work has appeared in the African American Devotional Bible (Zondervan) and The African American Pulpit (Judson Press), where she also served as a board member. Her books include Coming Through the Darkness: Cancer & One Woman’s Journey to Wholeness, Stories from Inner Space: Confessions of a Preacher Woman and Other Tales, and a companion prayer journal. Her voice is also featured in This Is My Story: Testimonies and Sermons of Black Women in Ministry (John Knox Press). In addition, she released a sacred music CD, There’s Never Been a Time, reflecting her creative and spiritual depth.
A recognized national leader, Dr. Copeland is the Founder and President of Destiny Ministries, a women’s empowerment network, and a founding co-convener of the Women in Ministry Training Conference. She has been featured in Ebony, Essence, Gospel Today, and Faith Magazine, and was included in the Smithsonian Institution exhibit “Speak to My Heart.” In 2004, she made history as the first woman to deliver the keynote address at a major urban National Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Commemorative March.
Dr. Copeland serves alongside her husband, Archbishop David Michael Copeland, as Executive Pastor of New Creation Christian Fellowship Church in Windcrest, Texas. Together, they lead a thriving, multi-faceted ministry committed to faith, justice, and transformation.