St John’s Meads, Eastbourne

Sally – St. John’s Meads, Eastbourne 

The team and I were running The Bereavement Journey® Programme in the daytime on an irregular basis. However, we felt the call from God to form a group, united in our hearts for those bereaved. We met to pray and explore in more depth the ways we could reach out with support to the local bereaved community.   

The outcome of the meeting was two initiatives: 

• a monthly Bereavement Café, based at the Church, and  

• hosting The Bereavement Journey programme on a regular basis.  

The Café was open to all who had experienced a bereavement, whether recent or many years ago, and it was advertised by flyers in local shops, tea shops and through the local hospice. The hospice staff were struggling to manage all the referrals that regularly came to them for bereavement support and were excited to hear of our plans.  

The church was undergoing repairs and the builder ‘Sam’ picked up one of the flyers advertising the Café whilst working. His mother had died a few months before and he was interested in the Café but had concerns over the religious context. The team were quick to advise him that the Café was open to all, from every walk of life and all faiths or none, that everyone was welcome. 

Sam came along for the first time. He was extremely tearful but said that he was encouraged to hear other people’s stories, realising he was not alone. He really enjoyed sharing his story too!  

We decided at this point to change The Bereavement Journey time of day to the evening to accommodate Sam who had shown an interest in coming, knowing that this would also be helpful to those who work in the day.  

Four signed up to this course, three of whom had no faith – Sam included.  

The feedback from it was incredibly positive, with all the participants deciding to stay for the optional faith session.  

Every session had been covered in prayer by the team – and by running The Bereavement Journey in my home with a welcome meal, I think it fostered an environment where all felt the love and deep care of God.  And Sam said he felt supported to the extent that he was at last able to clear out the property he had shared with his mum.