Calvary Fellowship facilitators of holiday grief seminars for those having lost a loved one due to death or are experiencing separation or divorce plan upcoming sessions, along with additional adult workshops to Help Grieving Children during the holidays. From left are Casey Jones, DivorceCare and Celebrate Victory facilitator, Care Pastor Bob VanArsdale, and David Pinkerton and Mary Derstine, GriefShare facilitators. Registration currently is underway for all the sessions.
It already is starting. Changes in family traditions due to the death of a loved one, or as a result of separation or divorce are starting to create angst among those affected, according to ministry leaders at a Chester County church that seeks to provide assistance in coping with such situations during the holidays.
Calvary Fellowship in Exton/Lionville is scheduling several non-denominational grief coping seminars, starting Friday, November 4, for those experiencing these circumstances, along with family members and friends who would like to know more about how they can help.
Care Ministries Pastor Bob VanArsdale says that some participants in the many care supports at the church already are starting to dread the unknowns that will be faced during the pre-Thanksgiving to post-Christmas season, even years after a death or a separation or divorce. These also intensify if children are involved, he noted.
Sessions of both GriefShare and DivorceCare Surviving the Holidays are being offered, both on and off-site, along with two adult sessions of Help Grieving Children.
The current schedule begins from 6:45 p.m. to 9 p.m. Friday, November 4, with a GriefShare Surviving the Holidays DVD/discussion session in Seminar 2 of the rear entrance education wing of the church at 95 West Devon Drive and Route 113. DivorceCare Surviving the Holidays will be held at the same time in Seminar 1.
Other sessions include:
— Thursday, November 17, GriefShare Surviving the Holidays will be presented from 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. at Ashbridge Manor Senior Living, 971 East Lancaster Avenue, Downingtown.
— Saturday, November 19, GriefShare Surviving the Holidays will be held from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. at the Phoenixville Public Library, 183 Second Avenue, followed by DivorceCare Surviving the Holidays from 11 a.m. to noon.
— Sunday, December 4, from 2:45 p.m. to 5 p.m., the two sessions will be repeated simultaneously in the same church rooms.
The Help Grieving Children sessions will be offered from 6:45 p.m. to 9 p.m. Thursday, November 10, and repeated Thursday, December 8, in Seminar 2 of the church.
The Surviving the Holidays sessions provide tools and resources, along with inspirational readings, to help individuals cope with new situations.
Help Grieving Children is for parents, grandparents, other family members, church and other care workers, and those in contact with children.
Pastor VanArsdale notes that children process grief, which can include different types of deaths, parent separation and divorce, moving, and more, differently than adults and differently at different ages. Effects of such situations can result in negative behaviors at later ages and even into adulthood, he said.
The single-session holidays seminar supplements a 13-week GriefShare series currently underway Monday nights at the church. Each lesson is self-contained so one can join the sessions at any time.
DivorceCare, also a 13-week DVD/discussion series, will re-start in January, although those experiencing separation or divorce can engage in the coping process through the church’s Celebrate Victory support group that meets from 6:15 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Wednesdays at the church.
Registration for the Calvary Fellowship presentations is available at care@cfdowningtown.com by providing attendee name(s), communities of residence, telephone number with area code, and the specific day and presentation.
Registration is required for the Phoenixville Library presentations at http://phoenixvillelibrary.org/adults-calendar, mpinto@ccls.org or (610) 933-3013 x132.
There is a $5 cost for a guidebook for the Surviving the Holidays sessions. The Help Grieving Children seminars are free.
