St. Thomas the Apostle Church Holding Forum on Dealing With Grief

A program entitled “Good Grief”, which deals with loss and grieving, will be presented at 6:30- 9:00 PM, Wednesday, April 15, at St. Thomas the Apostle Church Parish Center (Lower Level), 733 Oxford Rd Oxford.

How can grief be good? “Grief becomes good when we allow ourselves to move past loss, to healing and growth”, says Dennis Galemba, a member of the St. Thomas the Apostle Bereavement Ministry Team. “Society often sends signals that we must ‘get over it’. Therefore, many of us grieve in private, believing that we need to be strong and handle the grief ourselves. Most often however, the bravest thing we can do is “reach out for help and work through the grief with others”, adds Carol Flament, another member of the team.

Dominican Sister Mauryeen O’Brien, former coordinator for the bereaved at the Family Life Office of the Archdiocese of Hartford, past president of the National Catholic Ministry to the Bereaved and author of the New Day Program, will be the main presenter. Sister Mauryeen will talk about the symptoms and processes of grief and offer suggestions for recovery. She will also address questions asked by friends seeking to help someone who has been bereaved.

The presentation is open to the public and is free of charge. In addition to addressing those who have experienced a loss, the session would be appropriate those who might have questions on the loss of a loved one, dealing with persons who are terminally ill, or those who just might want to be informed on how to handle and minister to people who are experiencing the pain of losing a loved one.

Please call the St. Thomas Parish office at (203) 888-2382 if you are interested in attending.