Grief is real and experienced by church members and community residents. Numerous deaths occurred before, during, and following the COVID epidemic. The loss of family members, friends, co-workers, and church member left many sitting in the seat of grief. Supporting a grieving person can be difficult, leaving you at a loss for words. Few organizations offer training to help lay people learn grief support skills and how to cope with grief. For these reasons, on August 21, 2023, training for grief support mentoring, presented by Carol Campbell-Norris, Ed.D., was held at Southeastern Conference office.
The grief mentoring training was informative, interactive, lively, and inspiring. This one-of-a-kind training gave insight into how to provide meaningful support — what to say and what not to say, and how to go through the grief process. The training session opened with a moving devotional thought by Jennifer Sankey, Ph.D., health and disability ministries director for Southeastern Conference. This was followed by a mix-and-mingle activity that energized the attendees, allowing them to make new friends, network, and initiate internal support for one another.
Campbell-Norris kept the attendees engaged and energized. Throughout the training, the attendees laughed and had solemn moments. Many attendees stated they benefited from the training. Some committed to being grief mentors and starting a grief support group as a ministry in their churches and communities, indicating the training goals were met. Individuals were equipped to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ by providing support to grieving individuals.
Southeastern | December 2023
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