A Retreat for all who Grieve a Loss

Although some folks have been successful in avoiding paying taxes (at least for a time!), no one that I know has ever succeeded in avoiding eventual death. And yet, as inevitable (and as natural!) as death may be, we humans tend to avoid any familiarity with it whether in thought or in conversation, content, it would seem, to pretend its irrelevance, to deny its universal reach, and to turn a blind eye to its proximity.

Through these days together, with ample opportunity both for teaching and for mutual sharing, the group will take an up-close look at:

• Death and its many faces; the phenomenology of loss
• The seemingly endless series of other ensuing losses; the complexity of Bereavement
• Human internal response to loss; the pain of Grief
• Human external response to loss; the panoply of Mourning

The structure of the days together will struggle to weave time together with time being alone; the group will be encouraged to share on all levels of experience, allowing for individual reticence and respecting the desire for mutuality.

Doubts, fears, uncertainties, worries, questions… all are welcome, and all are pertinent to the group’s quest. Evenings will be left open for personal pursuits, one-on-one conversations, or consultations, and so as not to exclude day participants from any part of the program.

Instructor Biography

The group leader, Fr. Ed Dempsey is a forty-seven year veteran of pastoral ministry, now a retired priest of the Diocese of Norwich, who has happily participated in parish life, hospital ministry, school administration, the care and treatment of chronically mentally ill, substance abuse disordered, and criminal justice clients. In 1979, he developed and wrote a course Death, Bereavement, Grief, and Mourning, which he then taught for the ensuing ten years a Southern Connecticut State University, Department of Health Services. In retirement, he lives in the village of North Woodstock with his best friend and their cats. Many weekends, he may
be found in one or another parish of the diocese.

Rates

• Double Room Occupancy: $300 per person
• Single Room Occupancy: $375 per person
• Commuter Rate: $225 per person
• Deposit : $100 per person

Please contact us to pre-register: (860) 536-0565 or

P.O. Box 399 Mystic, CT 06355
reception@endersisland.com

Find out more about Enders Island at www.endersisland.com