Saintfield church to launch group to help grief stricken recover

Saintfield church to launch group to help grief stricken recover

2 May 2012

A NEW group is being launched in Saintfield to help people overcome grief.

Second Saintfield Presbyterian Church is launching a local branch of GriefShare which currently has thousands of groups operating across the globe.

Those behind the new branch in Saintfield say no matter what the circumstances, grief recovery is a painful process.

GriefShare already has a number of branches in Northern Ireland and is being described as an effective tool in helping people to begin to deal with the emotional and practical issues needed to help put life back together again.

The Second Saintfield congregation is adding to the growing number of groups in the Province, with church minister, the Rev. Graham Connor, explaining the primary aim is not to get new people to come to the church or for them to contribute money to it.

He continued: “We understand how deeply grief and loss hurt people and families and we simply want to help those living with grief. The group is open to anyone who has lost a loved one through death, whether the bereavement is recent or was a number of years ago.

“We want to provide for those living with loss, a group of people who will walk alongside each other and support each other through one of life’s most difficult experiences.”

GriefShare sessions have three distinct elements, with each including a video seminar featuring top experts on grief and recovery subjects.

After viewing the video, group members spend time as a support group, discussing what was presented in the video and what is going on in their lives.

Each participant receives a workbook to assist with note-taking, journaling between sessions and grief study. Each session is self contained and so people can join a group at any time.

The new Saintfield group will be launched next Wednesday, May 9, at 10.30am with a two-hour session at Second Saintfield Presbyterian Church halls.

A small fee, which has yet to be determined, will be charged to cover the cost of participants’ workbooks. More information about the initiative is available at www.griefshare.org.

Further information about the sessions in Saintfield are available at the congregation’s website www.secondsaintfield.org.uk or by contacting the Rev. Connor on gconnor12@btinternet.com.