A grief support group runs to September at the Sea Isle City United Methodist Church.
There’s a grief support group called GriefShare now being offered once a week for 13 weeks at Sea Isle City United Methodist Church.
There’s no fee to join. The first class started Monday night and runs through Sept. 9.
Any classes that are missed can be viewed via video from GriefShare on their website.
“We want to reach out to the community and give as much support as we can,” United Methodist Church Pastor Melissa Doyle-Waid said Monday. “There are a lot of people going through grief and we want to help them through that process.”
Although there is no fee to join the program, a $20 donation is appreciated to pay for the booklets supplied to each participant. But if the cost is prohibitive, the booklet will be provided, Doyle-Waid emphasized.
The classes are being held in Travis Waid Hall every Monday for 13 weeks from 6 to 8 p.m. at the church located at 4102 Central Ave. in Sea Isle.
Barbara Cummins is the facilitator and administrator of the program. The Seaville resident learned of the program, GriefShare, four years ago when she was seeking emotional support after the death of her husband, Bob.
“We are all here to support each other,” Cummins said. “There is a tremendous need for this support in Cape May County.”
Cummins noted that GriefShare is also offered at Lighthouse Church in Cape May Court House. The director of counseling there, Maria Sonntag, helped Cummins.
“I’ve been working with GriefShare for four years,” she said. “I started with it because I lost my husband, Bob. It was an extremely difficult situation.”
She recalled that at her first class with GriefShare, after the loss of her husband, she simply walked out.
“I stuck it out. I went back,” she explained.
GriefShare offers videos to watch featuring psychologists and ministers as well as in-person classes. (Photo courtesy of GriefShare.org)Cummins explained what makes the program so important for people suffering loss.
“Each week there is a different subject,” she said.
Monday night’s topic to start off the program was, “Is this Normal?”
“We talk about crying at the drop of a hat,” Cummins said. “You realize when talking to others that you’re not crazy. Then we get on to handling your loved one’s belongings.
We even touch on suicide farther down the modules. There are a lot of tears.”
The Christian-based program is nondenominational.
“There are references to scriptures to validate what we talk about,” Cummins said.
During the classes, there are videos played. Participants will hear from psychologists and ministers.
“The videos are wonderful,” Cummins said, adding that they are great for those who can’t attend a class. “But it isn’t the same as the in-person two-way conversation.”
She said from firsthand experience as well as being a facilitator of the program, that the most rewarding part is the interaction between the participants.
The final week of the program will be a memorial celebration.
“We decorate the room and have candles and celebrate them,” Cummins said of the people lost. “We ask the participants to bring in memorabilia.”
Most of the people bring in plenty of photos or sporting attire or books and other things the loved ones enjoyed.
“People come in with Eagles shirts, cookbooks and lots of pictures, like the photo boards from funerals. It is wonderful to see the happy times with their person. It is cleansing,” Cummins said.
And she stressed the valuable experiences people can gain from joining GriefShare.
“You can’t take the grief away. You can’t take the sorrow away,” she noted. “But you can find a way to live the way you need to. It’s really important to get a sense of yourself back after you lose a loved one.”
For more information email [email protected] or visit www.griefshare.org.
