The leaders have heard All Saints people invite exploring grief ministry. The Mutual Ministry Team recently invited the Council to take a closer look. And I want to start a conversation with you about what would be helpful for you and this congregation.

Jesus promised that those who grieve will be comforted. That’s why

There’s so many ways All Saints already does and can even more accompany those who grieve on the journey God promised leads to joy.

• learning events
• prayer
• healing worship
• visiting with the pastor
• Listen Strong listening “seasons”
• small group conversation
• friendship and relationship-building
• bible study
• a “hope and healing” garden
• music
• something else…

Do one or more of these seem to speak to you or “shimmer” for you as something that may help you with grief?

Has one or more of  these helped you with grief and you feel a call to invest in that to help others?

Let me know. Talk to Julie Schoville, All Saints’ council president.

I myself love to learn. I collect and share resources. Simple information has been healing for me. Plus, many of us have been in situations where we wanted to help, but we didn’t know how. Or we learned later someone was grieving but we didn’t know and didn’t recognize the signs. And others of us have been in situations where we tried to help, but either made things worse or we got overwhelmed, and then we didn’t know what a caring next step would be.

Understanding the limits of our capacity to help is as important as becoming more skilled in recognizing need and responding with care. So this is a broader conversation than one enews.

Let me hear from you, if you have anything to share around exploring grief ministry. Next week, I’ll share some of what I’ve learned about the differences between grief, shame, trauma, and depression.

Thanks and peace, PC