Increasing The Understanding Of Grief And Addressing The Needs Of The Grieving In Ministry

Abstract

Two of my worlds began to collide and I realized potentially unmet needs existed in the church. I have served as an ordained pastor in this community for the past fifteen years. Through the funeral home, I serve as grief counselor. While assisting families in the latter capacity, it became apparent that many churches in the community did not provide care for the grieving beyond the funeral. With this information, this project was created. To reach the greatest number of people at Trinity Missionary Baptist Church, the project began with a four-week sermon series. The series was designed to expose the congregation to the concepts of grief, how grief was expressed in the Bible, and the church’s responsibility to the grieving. During the series, on each Wednesday night following the Sunday morning sermon, the congregation was invited to ask questions or request further clarification of the concepts presented in the sermon. This also allowed me to provide additional information about the scripture. At the conclusion of the series, they were given the opportunity to volunteer and take part in a six-week focus group. The group would explore the topics further as well as identify any needs that may exist in Trinity’s approach to the grieving. The focus group met for six consecutive Sunday afternoons. They spent two weeks exploring the topics further. The following two weeks enabled participants to tell their story about grief and the support they did or did not receive. The final two weeks were spent uncovering ways that Trinity could provide additional support to the grieving. During this final two weeks, the group came up with two solid conclusions. Trinity could provide a monthly grief support group and could enhance the grief support through an existing committee at the church. There are other solutions that can be implemented in the coming years. The goal of the ministry is to care for the grieving in the church and then to reach those that are grieving in the community. There will be continued education in the church and additional opportunities to serve as a result of this project.