We all experience some level of grief as a response to losses of many kinds: houses flood, relationships falter, businesses fail. The deepest sorrows of all may follow the death of someone whom we have dearly loved. Our hospital’s commitment to compassionate care for our families and the broader community motivates us to look for ways to come alongside those who are navigating this most significant mourning process, so on the second Tuesday evening of every month we host a Grief Support Group.
Who comes to the group?
The groups are typically diverse, and include:
- people whose loved ones were patients in our hospital and people whose loved ones passed away elsewhere
- those whose family members passed very recently and those who are recalling a death from long ago
- people whose loved one passed away suddenly and those whose loved one experienced a lengthy illness
- one-time, occasional and regular attendees
What blends their unique stories together is the common experience of the death of someone dear.
What happens at the Grief Support Group?
Participants arrive at the Main Entrance at 5:30 p.m. and check in before sharing a complimentary dinner in our cafeteria. At 6 p.m. the group moves to the Brazos Conference Center for a time of discussion and sharing facilitated by one of our hospital’s trained chaplains. Building on a theme-setting text or meditation, the participants find a safe place to tell their stories, interact with each other, or just sit and listen. Affirmation, hospitality, comfort and healing are the tones of the evening.
Everyone is welcome
As members of the Houston Methodist Sugar Land family, you are certainly welcome to participate in the monthly Grief Support Group. If you know of someone else who might want to attend, please let them know that this resource is available to them as well. The next meeting is Tuesday evening, October 10. No advance registration is needed.
May we each be blessed by the knowledge that no matter what we are experiencing in life, we are not alone.