June 2021 Child’S Death, You Probably Have Similar Questions
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
NEWSLETTER Serving Upper Bucks and Montgomery Counties The Compassionate Friends Regardless of the circumstances surrounding your Quakertown Chapter June 2021 child’s death, you probably have similar questions. These specific questions have, in turn, led to broader For most of us, the questions about God and his attributes. If there is a Father's Role in the Loss God, does God really care about me? Does God have the ability to shape circumstances? Why doesn’t God of a Child intercede on a more regular basis to save us from an endless ocean of grief that accompanies events like the By Amy Newman death of our child? But God has not sent you a point-by-point response to While many fathers may put on an outward your specific questions. He hasn’t given me specific 24th Annual WorLd Wide CandLe LighPng answers, either. As a result, as grieving parents we are display of strength, inside they are as Hosted by the Compassionate Friends Quakertown Chapter required to live lives of unanswered questions. And heartbroken as any parent would be over the these unanswered questions impact the way we feel loss of a child. They experience the same WHAT: a Pme to remember our Loved ones who have died. It is about God. Ken Gire writes, “Unanswered questions sponsored by the LoCal Compassionate Friends Chapter, whiCh can form an impasse in our relationship with God that is stages of grief as anyone else, even if they do Himalayan in its expanse. Stopped there, we look to the supports parents, grandparents, and sibLings who have had a ChiLd, not always express it. Society often focuses on highest mountain in that range, to the God we once grandChiLd, or sibLing die. knew—or thought we knew—and the God whose the mother, but fathers also need support paternal arms we once felt wrapped so protectively while being allowed to grieve on their terms. WHEN: DeCember 13, 2020 @ 6:30p.m. from your warm home on around us now seems an Everest of indifference. As a Zoom. The Link wiLL be sent out CLoser to the date. You wiLL Light a grieving parent, I can relate to this “Everest of How Men Grieve indifference.” Particularly in the immediate aftermath of CandLe in your own home at 7pm, with the whoLe worLd LighPng at While women are generally open with their Grieving Silently my son’s sudden death, God didn’t feel near. God did Many men have been taught that they 7pm LoCal Pme. not send a special message encouraging me in my grief emotions, men often keep theirs bottled up. A or giving me the reasons why my son had to die. Like father may not outwardly show any sadness should not share their emotions or SLIDESHOW If you opted out of subming photographs in previous orial Garden so many other grieving parents, I felt emotionally distant from God. over the loss of his child, either because of reach out for support. They are raised years, you may submit up to 3 photos that highLight your ChiLd, grandChiLd or sibLing. If you did this previousLy, do not re-submit for First, we could look for those answers that “feel” the to be strong in times of trouble, thus best to us in our grief. We might call this the societal pressure to be strong or the feeling the same person. that he must be there to support his wife. they often grieve silently. This does not October “sentimental” approach to grieving because this approach elevates the emotional impact over its actual mean he is not grieving - it just means How to Submit Photos: EmaiL the photos to substance. Particularly now, in these days when God To alL of our fathers and grandfathers on your Father's Day, June 20th. he is doing it differently. [email protected] - due to Covid, alL photos must Membe sCanned. InCLude the FIRST and LAST name of the ChiLd in the May each of you have a day fiLLed with peace and kind memories. We are alL bLessed by our TCF fathers, grandfathers and emaiL subjeCt Line. You wiLL reCeive an emaiL back Confirming they brothers. were reCeived and that they work for the sLideshow [SomePmes https://www.facebook.com/groups/quakertownchapter they are too smalL or grainy to be inCLuded and we wiLL work with you to re-submit]. Photos must be emaiLed by Nov. 15, no excepPons. If you are reading this newsLeSer and do not reCeive emaiLs from the Chapter, and wouLd Like to, pLease emaiL [email protected] to be inCLuded QuesPons Can be direCted to the above emaiL or 484-408-7314. on the emaiL List. Be sure to inCLude your name! As our membership grows costs are rising to mail Quakertown Chapter paper copies of the newsletter each month. PO Box 1013 Please consider receiving the newsletter by email, Quakertown, PA 18951 or Facebook, or our website. Please contact us Chapter Info Line: 484-408-7314 with your email address!!! Thank you for helping [email protected] us SAVE funds!!! email or scan —————-—> website: www.tcfquakertownpa.org [email protected] PLease give some thought to voLunteering with The Compassionate Friends. Our Chapter is growing and we need heLping hands to ConPnue to heLp others that are new to this path of grief. We need not walk alone. Page 1 As a reminder to famiLies that wouLd Like to aend a support meePng. PLease alLow Quakerto yourseLf at Least 3 or 4 meePngs of aendanCe to determine if they are for you. It may take a Serving Bucks and Montgomery Counties few meePngs before you're abLe to talk about your Loved one and that is understandabLe. What you say at our meePngs is kept in the SeLf-heLp Program meePng, you Can Cry, hug, talk about how you The Compassionate Friends, InC. is a mutual are feeLing freeLy. Our meePngs are for assistanCe, seLf- heLp organizaon offering parents, grandparents and sibLings in grade 9 friendship, understanding, and hope to bereaved or above and aduLt sibLings. famiLies. Anyone who has experienCed the death of a ChiLd of any age, from any Cause is weLCome. Our Your Friends at TCF Quakertown Chapter meePngs give parents an opportunity to talk about their ChiLd and about their feeLings as they go Library Books wn through the grieving proCess. There is no reLigious We have a niCe Library of books for our affiLiaon. There are no membership dues. The members to CheCk purpose of this support group is not to foCus on out and read and return them back to our the Cause of death or the age of the ChiLd, as it is to Library. A probLem we Currently have is that foCus on being a bereaved parent, along with the some books have not made their way back to feeLings and issues that evoLve around the death our Library and our Library is shrinking. If you About Our Chapter experienCe of a ChiLd. have CheCked out a book or magazine from our Library and are done reading it won't you Chapter Leader – Barbara J Rebora^ To Our New Members PLEASE return it to us at our monthLy Chapter Treasurer – Sherri ALbro Coming to the first meePng is the hardest, but you meePngs. If you are not abLe to make the have nothing to Lose and everything to gain!. Try meePng you may maiL it back to us or have Chapter SeCretary – GaiL BLase not to judge your first meePng as to whether or Assistant SeCretary - someone eLse return it to us. ALso, if you have not The Compassionate Friends wiLL work for you. any books that wouLd heLp other grieving Mary Anne Macko At the next meePng you may find just the right famiLies through their journey and wouLd Like NewsLeSer Editor/Webmaster – person or just the right words said that wiLL heLp to donate them to our Library pLease give them Linda Stauffer you in your grief work. to our Librarians. Membership Outreach- To our Members who are further down the "GRIEF Ginny Leigh ManueL NewsLeSer Errors and Omissions ROAD" For any errors or omissions pLease Contact SoCial Media Coordinator & SibLing We need your enCouragement and your support. Linda via emaiL at [email protected] with the Coordinator – Crystal Hunter Each meePng we have new parents. THINK BACK - error and the CorreCPon for the next month Memorial Garden Chairperson – what wouLd it have been Like for you at your first newsLeSer. PLease remember we are alL Theresa Sitko meePng if there had not been any TCF"veterans" voLunteers and grieving to weLCome you, share your grief, enCourage you CommiSee members – Bob ALbro, and teLL you, "your pain wiLL not always be this bad, Dianna Cox, Diane GureCki,Lisa About This NewsLeSer it realLy does get beSer!" This newsLeSer Comes to you Courtesy of The DeChant and LyneSe Lampman Compassionate Friends, Quakertown Chapter Informaon Regarding Our MeePngs with the hope that it wiLL be a heLpfuL resourCe PLEASE don't stay away from a meePng beCause for you on your grief journey. the topiC sCheduLed does not interest you. We are If you no Longer wish to reCeive the newsLeSer here is disCuss whatever is on your mind, we don't pLease Contact the newsLeSer editor by emaiL: TCF National Ofice: stay on the topiC onLy. This is YOUR group and we [email protected] 877-969-0010 are here for each other. You do not have to talk at PLEASE NOTE: If you are moving or your emaiL www.compassionatefriends.org meePngs.