Resources for grief amidst every kind of transition including reflections on grief, tools for conversations, rituals, and guidance for pastoral care.

Resources

Files

Holy Closure Project: Video Introduction to Holy Closure - This video is part of the Holy Closure Project and features Pastor Danielle DeNise and storyteller Jason Chesnut. This video is anchor in Exodus 16 and shares theology around Holy Closure affirming it as a faith response to God’s work among us. 


Holy Closure Project: Conversation Guide -This was created to help you reflect and respond to questions raised in the Holy Closure Project. This includes key concepts from the videos and questions.

Litany : Amid our Pain -This litany could be adapted for a community experiencing tragic loss of life or a building that has been destroyed.

Retirement of a Gift by a Congregations -Relinquishing gifts by a congregation can prompt grief. This litany honors the donor and the value of the gift to the congregation.

Moldy Manna Devotional -This devotional created by DEM Pastor Danielle DeNise introduces the topic of grieve and clinging through the scriptural image of manna in the wilderness.

Links

Navigating Loss without Closure (Podcast) - Pauline Boss coined the term “ambiguous loss” and invented a new field within psychology to name the reality that every loss does not hold a promise of anything like resolution. Amid this pandemic, there are so many losses — from deaths that could not be mourned, to the very structure of our days, to a sudden crash of what felt like solid careers and plans and dreams. This conversation is full of practical intelligence for shedding assumptions about how we should be feeling and acting as these only serve to deepen stress.

 Holy Closure Project: Introduction to Holy Closure  - This video is part of the Holy Closure Project and features Pastor Danielle DeNise and storyteller Jason Chesnut. This video is anchor in Exodus 16 and shares theology around Holy Closure affirming it as a faith response to God’s work among us.