Grief & Loss Support Group for Widows/Widowers

Society promotes many misconceptions about grief (e.g., emotions are only acceptable at funerals, grief is brief, only immediate family are impacted, …etc.) that may hinder the recovery process. There is no single pattern to grief. The benefits of a support group with others who have experienced the loss of a spouse or partner helps universalize your experience. You are not alone, although it may feel that way sometimes. Listening to the experience of others who have traversed rough waters usually lends helpful insights into personal practices. For example, ‘how do you make the big house feel less empty’? ‘I don’t want to cook only for myself’. Please join us every 2nd and 4th Tuesday of the month in the rectory parlor to explore supportive ways grief and loss can be the entry point of God’s healing in your life.

Christopher Johnson is a recent graduate with his Masters in Counseling Psychology from The Chicago School of Professional Psychology, D.C. campus. He currently works in the Evangelization office at Saint Mark’s parish, and as a professional counselor part-time with Catholic Charities gaining his state required hours of supervision towards independent licensure. Christopher received a Philosophy degree from La Salle University in Philadelphia, and like a true philosopher, moved to Vermont from North Carolina on God’s invitation to learn from the local church here, as a domestic missionary of sorts. “Saint Mark’s is a welcoming community, and that I can speak from experience!”