Princeton church to host GriefShare support group

Community members who have experienced the death of a spouse, child, family member or friend, recent or not so recent, are invited to participate in the GriefShare support group at the Evangelical Covenant Church, 24 N. Main St., Princeton.

The new session begins Monday, Aug. 19, and runs through Nov. 11. The group will meet from 1 to 3 p.m. every Monday to help face challenges and move toward rebuilding your life. The meeting that falls on Labor Day will be Tuesday, Sept. 3. There is a cost of $20 for the participant guide. In addition, the last session will focus on surviving the holidays.

GriefShare is a 13-week video seminar series that features grief and recovery topics as seen from a biblical perspective. Each GriefShare session has three distinct elements – video seminar, support group discussion and a participant guide with personal study exercises that reinforce the weekly session topics. Each session is “self-contained” so participants are welcome to begin at any point within the 13-week program.

The church will be using the new GriefShare 4.0 materials, which include fresh video content featuring grief experts and real-life stories. Topics covered include loneliness, sadness, self-care, fear, anger, regrets, relationships, resilience and hope.

The program aims for participants to find encouragement, comfort and help in grieving the death of a spouse, child, parent, sibling, other family member, or friend. The program also aims to teach how to recognize the symptoms of being stuck in grief and renew hope for the future. This is an opportunity to be around people who understand what you are feeling, organizers said.

Participants should bring their own water bottle. Pre-registering is not necessary but helpful. Visit griefshare.org/groups/238676 for more information or to register, or call the Evangelical Covenant Church at 815-875-2124 with questions.