After 20 years, grief group still supports bereaved

By ANGELA CAVE- | Comments: 0 | Leave a comment

St. Pius X parish in Loudonville will offer its popular eight-week educational bereavement support group again this fall.

The group, offered at Our Lady of the Assumption Church in Latham, welcomes people struggling with the loss of a loved one, a pet, a job or a relationship, or grieving other losses.

"People in a grief group realize that everybody is in the same boat," said Sister Eleanor Guerin, RSM, co-facilitator. "Loss is loss and we need to try to lean into it and not try to walk around it, because it's going to hit us, one way or another."

During each session, up to a dozen participants hear a presentation on topics like understanding emotions, coping, healing and remembering. They complete workbooks, have discussions and support one another.

Participants have come from as far as Valatie, Amsterdam and Saratoga Springs. Some are retired; others take time off from work to attend. Some are parishioners of St. Pius; others attend different houses of Christian and Jewish worship.

A grieving person often needs a change of scenery, noted Jeanne Pitkin, co-facilitator and associate for pastoral care at St. Pius.

"Personally, I can understand that," she said. "Sometimes you just need somebody else to bounce things off of."

She's happy to speak with people in advance to help them decide if the group fits their needs: "You don't have to share when you're in a group unless you feel comfortable and safe doing that," she noted.

"The important thing is that [participants] realize they're not alone," said Sister Eleanor, who also runs a monthly group at St. Vincent de Paul parish in Albany, where she is pastoral associate for outreach. "Sometimes people say, 'Oh, my God, aren't you over that yet?' When you lose someone that you love dearly, it's going to take a while for that wound to heal."

The group also helps people understand that symptoms of grief - like losing interest in favorite activities or losing focus on work - are common and will pass.

"Sometimes people think they're going crazy," Sister Eleanor said, "and all they're really doing is going through the stages of grief. They're just in a state where the loss is so big that nothing is really important.

"When they hear each other sharing, there's this wonderful bond that happens," she continued. "You start with a grief group and people are just so burdened. And at the end of the eight weeks, it's kind of like seeing Jesus being raised from the dead."[[In-content Ad]]