Monthly Grief and Loss Support Group Meetings 

If you are experiencing a loss, please join us at our support group. We will come together in the Upper Hall from 6:30-8:00 pm once a month on the following Mondays:   

          September 16, 2024 - 6:30
         October 21, 2024 - 6:30
         November 18, 2024 - 6:30
        December 16, 2024 - 6:30
        January 20, 2025 - 6:30
        February 24, 2025 - 6:30
        March 18, 2025 - 6:30
        April 14, 2025 - 6:30
        May 26, 2025 - 6:30
                      June 23, 2025 - 6:30                                     July 21, 2025 - 6:30            August 18, 2025 - 6:30

As a parish, we have a role in supporting those who are experiencing grief and loss.
Grief can happen with any loss or life transition. Think of the losses and life changes that you have been through. Grief is a natural response that helps us come to terms with our loss.
Grief impacts our thoughts, feelings, behaviour, and physical body. It compels us to look for purpose and meaning out of what happened. Sometimes we can have a crisis of faith and feel isolated not only from others, but from God. Grief will be different for everyone and does not proceed in stages.
Often, depression can be linked to a life loss or transition that has not been acknowledged and worked through. Grief is a process and has been called “work”. Ultimately, we will grow from the experience but we cannot bypass some of the experiences we will have in doing this work of mourning our loss.
 
Some tasks of mourning have been identified (by William Worden):
            1. To accept the reality of the loss
            2. Process the pain of grief
              3. To adjust to a world without the deceased
            4. To find an enduring connection with the deceased in the midst of embarking on a new life
 

Grief, Loss and Bereavement Resources
The following resources can assist those of you on the bereavement journey:
Websites:
My Grief https://mygrief.ca/
Center for Loss and Life Transition https://www.centerforloss.com/about-the-center-for-loss/about-dr-alan-wolfelt/
Self-Compassion Dr Kristin Neff https://self-compassion.org/
Sanctuary Mental Health Ministries. The Sanctuary Course for Catholics. https://sanctuarymentalhealth.org/catholics/
Worden’s Four Tasks of Mourning https://www.ourhouse-grief.org/grief-pages/grieving-adults/four-tasks-of-mourning/

Videos:
What does dying well mean to you?
John Swinton https://youtu.be/x-tQAj8Kxq0
Every Death Entails Resurrection- Brian
McLaren https://youtu.be/6mwPvbayl84
Helping Yourself Heal When Someone
Dies - Dr. Alan D. Wolfelt
https://youtu.be/eHS0yF2EfLY

Webinars:
Let’s Talk About Grief: Canadian Virtual
Hospice https://www.virtualhospice.ca/learninghub#gallery-9
Everybody Grieves: Canadian Hospice Palliative Care Association
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XFJaFTGVmxk

Books:
Turn My Mourning into Dancing Henri J.M. Nouwen
In Memoriam Henri J. M. Nouwen
Good Grief: A Companion for Every Loss Granger E Westberg
Trusting God Through Tears Jehu Thomas Burton
A Grief Observed C.S. Lewis
Praying Our Goodbyes: A Spiritual Companion Through Life’s Losses and Sorrows Joyce Rupp