Good Shepherd Parish is honored to provide a GriefShare program.  When someone loses a loved one it is never easy, and coping at times may be a struggle.  Know that you are never alone.  Grief Share is a friendly, caring group who will walk alongside you through one of life's most difficult experience.  We offer support, comfort and guidance as you search for understanding and healing.


We also offer a "Suriving the Holidays," session which will help guide you through some practical ways to work through those difficult moments that may arise during the Thanksgiving or Christmas season as a result of the loss you have experienced.


Each program provides you with biblical-based support through prayer, video presentation focused on each session (with profession, religous and personal witness), and group discussion where you will share with others who are experiencing grief from their own lives.
 

We invite you to join us.  Call us for more information at 207-282-3321.

Grief Share 2019 Session to be announced soon:
Each session includes a video series and group discussion

Week 1:  
Session 1: Is This Normal

Week 2:
Session 2 Challenges of Grief

Week 3:
Session 3:  What the Journey of Grief Is Part I 

Week 4:
Session 4: What the Journey of Grief Is-Part II

Week 5:
Session 5:  Grief and Relationship

Week 6:
Session 6:  Why

Week 7:
Session 7:  Guilt and Anger

Week 8:
Session 8:  Complicating Factors

Week 9:
Session 9:  STUCK

Week 10:
Session 10:  Lessons of Grief – Part I

Special Session:
SURVIVING THE HOLIDAYS SESSION
This 2 hour Surviving The Holidays grief session is open to all parishioners.  

Week 11:
Session 11:   Lessons of Grief – Part II

Week 12:
Session 12:   Heaven

Week 13:
Session 13:   What do I live for now 

Week 14 Optional Session:

From Ashes to New Life: Where do I go from here
A transition from who I was to who I am now
4 Practical Transitional Steps:
-Debrief
-Process
-Integration
-Transformation
-What is that plan (seek and you will find)
-How can I live day-to-day in God's Plan 

Testimony - from a person who has gone through this grief to new life
hear how someone who has lost, now found ways to live fully, once again

Tools To Get You Through
-What is my new identity? (how do I define myself now?)
-How can I laugh again? (Practical ways to live life the way God intended)

LIVE:
- L - Look deep within your heart (what is God speaking) Psalm 46:10
- I  - Invite the possibilities (practical steps to finding your new loves (exploere new things -
                  painting, reading, acting, reconnect with old friendsm making new ones, etc)
- V - Vision (see yourself in this new light in which God has shined on you - be that beacon of
                  light to others) MT 5:13-16
- E - Expect the unexpected - but with God all things are possible) 



GreifShare 2018 highlights of each session: 

Session 1: Is This Normal
During this session particpants will discover:
-Why our grief experience is harder than we imagined
-Why the intensity and duration of our emotions are normal and appropriate
-Despite how we feel right now, there is reason for hope

Session 2:  Challenges of Grief
During this session particpants will discover:
-More eye-opening reasons why your pain is so overwhelming
-Some of the overlooked, yet common, effects grief has on your mind, body and spirit
-How to get things done when you don’t feel like you have any energy

Session 3:  What the Journey of Grief Is Part I 
During this session particpants will discover:
-Helpful goals to set on your journey of grief
-How to deal with those who try to rush you through your grief
-How long the journey of grief typically lasts

Session 4:  What the Journey of Grief Is-Part II 
During this session particpants will discover:
-Why is it important to put effort in your healing
- How the events surrounding your loved one’s death affect your grief
- The best ways to deal with our loved one’s belonging

Session 5:  Grief and Relationship 
During this session particpants will discover:
-How the death of a loved one affects friendships
-Why solitude can be a blessing and a curse
-How to deal with friends who don’t understand your grief

Session 6:  Why
During this session particpants will discover:
-God wants us to share our feelings with Him
-Why being honest with God is an expression of faith
-What God has to say to us about our “why” questions

Session 7:  Guilt and Anger 
During this session particpants will discover:
 -How to deal with false guilt
 -How to grieve conflicted relationships
 -How to handle grief-related anger

Session 8:  Complicating Factors 
During this session particpants will discover:
-How traumatic experiences affect grief
-How to deal with nightmares and flashbacks
-How our thinking affects our emotions

Session 9:  STUCK
During this session particpants will discover:
-How to prevent getting stuck in grief
-Common misconceptions that hinder healing
-Why our path to healing is not always smooth

Session 10:  Lessons of Grief – Part I 
During this session particpants will discover:
-An often-overlooked reason that grief is so painful
-Why going to church can be so difficult
-The benefit of helping others

Session 11:   Lessons of Grief – Part II 
During this session particpants will discover:
-Who we are now that our loved one is gone
-Why no one grieves perfectly
-What grief can teach us about relationships

Session 12:   Heaven
During this session particpants will discover:
-What is heaven like
-Whether we should communicate with our deceased loved one            
-Whether near-death experiences are reliable descriptions of heaven
-More answers to our questions about heaven

Session 13:   What do I live for now 
During this session particpants will discover:
-Why moving forward is a necessity
-Why it is a process        
-Why peace and pain will always coexist


Testamonials:

Grief is for anyonoe who feels a loss they cannot recover from without the extra grace from God.   

Wow! Since I was seven years old I've been afraid of dying...Its funny now when my husband died, how depressed I was...when griefshare was offered, I ran to it! It amazes me how quickly we all bonded, and how it changed my life. 

After my husband and mother passed away 15 years ago, I just decided to go to work to retire.  Now that I am retired, I realize I need to work at this (their deaths)...I feel safe at these meetings; people sharing their feelings honestly and it is helping me!  These meetings are what I needed.  I plan on attending the next year sessions. 

I have lost my sister many years ago and was attending this grief share program to help others.  After the first few sessions, I realized that I had unresolved issues about her death.  The videos  and the sharing in groups have help me a lot! 

I have developed some close friends from this griefshare.

These griefshare sessions have given me my the love of scripture again!  The people in the films helped me find much encouragement and comfort from the Word of God.

One thing I learned is that you can develop a closer union with God by taking the habit of talking with Him more often when you miss your loved one.

I learned to accept that I'm not in charge.  My loved one was (is) a gift from God, and that I must continue to fulfill God's purpose for me on earth.

Attending the grief share program has been a spiritual place or refuge for me.  I've learned I'm not alone and many of the daily challenges I face others face too.

Sharing our stories has enriched my life and brought me closer to my faith.