Christchurch, Clevedon
Jim Richards, Christchurch, Clevedon
Christchurch’s Bereavement Support work consists of a team of ten people, integrated into the Pastoral Befriending work of the Church. This work is funded by and accountable to the Ecumenical Church Council (ECC). The Clergy provide oversight through regular pastoral meetings.
Organisation of the team is via three experienced core members, and all team members are trained in bereavement support.
Most importantly, as a church we seek to support all who are bereaved or have suffered loss in any way. We do this by providing the following:
A monthly Grieve Well Café, creating a forum for peer support and an opportunity to sign-post people to internal or external services/events. There is no agenda presented – just a chance for attendees to share coffee and cake, and to talk about their losses or anything that interests them. For many, this provides a safe place, and one to come back to from time to time to seek re-assurance or encouragement when things are tough or to share good news and successes.
Each year, we run The Bereavement Journey® Programme two or three times. This is offered as either a daytime or evening course – to cater for the widest possible range of needs. For each course we can have up to three groups in parallel, with our core team facilitating. To date, this has provided support to around 20 to 25 people per year since we started in 2021.
Our annual Memorial Service at the start of Advent, gives those that are bereaved a chance to spend some time in reflection and prayer, often as a family. This event is in collaboration with a local Funeral Home and is open to all who have been bereaved at any time. 50 to 100 people can come through our doors, and there are some families who use this as an annual time of remembering.
Attendees at the Café or The Bereavement Journey do have the opportunity to request one-to-one chats with an appropriate member of the team, they are not offered counselling here, but a chance to simply share more deeply and more privately.
Two of our core team also run Bereavement Care Awareness (BCA) training and have in the past provided regular updates for the wider team to engage with this. This training has also enabled churches/individuals in neighbouring towns to undertake and set up cafés, and The Bereavement Journey.
Our objective is always to support the training of others and the roll-out of bereavement support regionally, as well as being aware of the need to work ecumenically across the town of Clevedon.
Cross-over with other services is also important. With our church also running Alpha courses and Living Life to the Full (a Christian application of CBT) supporting people in our community, this can prove a great ‘follow on’ for people who initially come looking to understand their grief.
Jim Richards Christchurch , Clevedon