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Our Bereavement group holds a monthly gathering in the Small Meeting Room at the Parish Center. Anyone grieving the loss of a loved one is welcome to attend.
Participants, together with facilitators, discuss the various aspects of grieving. Individual needs and ideas are afforded particular attention. (Individual counseling is also available.)
This ministry is comprised of parishioners from St. Paul Church who have suffered their own losses and are united in their overwhelming desire to bring comfort and support to others who are grieving. Each member has completed a training program at the Archdiocesan Center in Newark and is certified as a Bereavement Support Group Facilitator.
"Nothing can make up for the absence of someone we love. And it would be wrong to try to find a substitute – we must simply hold out and see it through.
That may sound very hard at first, but at the same time, it is a great consolation. For the gap, as long as it remains unfilled, preserves the bond between us.
It is nonsense to say that God fills the gap – God does not fill it – but on the contrary, keeps it empty and so helps us to keep alive our former communion with each other, even at the cost of pain."
Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906–1945)
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"Bereavement Group at St. Paul's Parish helped me to realize that I was truly not alone; others were feeling just as I was. By sharing my feelings with them, I was able to release a lot of pain and fill my heart again with God's love and my precious memories."
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