Category: Classes

A new ministry program is being offered by Palms member Shea Darian, a grief educator and spiritual director who teaches holistic grieving as a life-skill to help you heal your grief – past, present and future. Whoever you are and no matter what types of losses you harbor, Shea offers a new way to think about grief and grieving that will help you learn to use your grief as a life force for healing.

Initially, this ministry will be conducted primarily online due to Covid-19 and will be on a first-come first-served basis. Members and friends of Church of the Palms are invited to participate in one or all of the following offerings: 

The Healing Circle: Sacred Listening Small Groups

Healing Circles are confidential small group encounters to explore personal grief and healing by engaging in a contemplative conversation with three or four others. More than a support group, Healing Circles provide an opportunity for participants to share personal stories of loss, grief and healing. Interludes of quiet contemplation create a deep listening experience that a past participant describes as an “expanded form of listening” in which “the listening and sharing give each in the circle profound energy, joy, gratitude and an expanded connection with being human.”

Small groups meet weekly, biweekly or monthly. Participants commit to 4-5 sessions at a time. Dates and times depend on participants’ preferences and availability as groups are formed.

One-on-One Spiritual Care

For those who prefer one-on-one sharing, Shea is available as a listening companion – biweekly, monthly or on an occasional basis. If this seems like a better fit for you, contact Shea to schedule a time to ask questions and get more information.

Educational Offerings

This fall, Shea will offer a talk and workshop on holistic grieving – based on her Model of Adaptive Grieving Dynamics (Illness, Crisis & Loss, Vol. 22, 2014). Shea’s model illustrates four types of responses to grief that are essential for healing grief-related suffering. These dynamic four are Lamenting, Heartening, Tempering and Integrating. Together, they can serve as your compass to navigate all kinds of losses, and help you become more aware of your preferences, strengths and growing edges as a griever and a healer. Check back for dates and times.

Grief-striking losses come in many forms: death, illness, injury, family dysfunction, conflict, injustice, addiction, loneliness, trauma, social or political ills… Grief can descend in good times, too. It’s so mixed up with love and happiness, it can impact us even when it seems we have nothing to grieve. If you are interested in participating or have further questions, please contact Shea at info@sheadarian.com or 602.315.8480.