What is Grief Support?

Grief comes naturally as a part of loss. People often feel alone and isolated in their grief but no one should have to grieve alone. Many resources are available to help with grief and make its presence and passage both meaningful and rewarding. “The experience of grief is powerful. So, too, is your ability to help yourself heal. In doing the work of grieving, you are moving toward a renewed sense of meaning and purpose in your life.” – Dr. Alan D. Wofeldt, Center for Loss and Life Transitions

What We Offer

Andrew D. Ferguson Funeral Home’s Continual-Care Program offers support for families of all faiths to help before, during and after the loss of a loved one.

• Online Grief Support connects you to resources which can help with understanding grief:
  • Journey of Hearts: A Healing Place in CyberSpace
  • Center for Loss: Grief Education and Publications
• Our Grief Lending Library is comprised of more than 100 books, video tapes and pamphlets dealing with grief, grief resolution, death, and the trauma that surrounds this emotional time in one’s life. Materials may be borrowed at any time.
• Our On-staff Grief Specialist can assist in selecting materials and programs appropriate to family members’ and friends’ unique situations.
• Our comprehensive Outreach Program includes two Grief Support Groups, Stepping Stones Pamphlet and Heal One’s Grief Wounds Support Group, as well as speakers on various funeral related topics.

Lillian and David Cale are facilitators for the Newly Bereaved and Advanced groups of Stepping Stones Bereavement Support. Neither is a certified counselor; both are grievers and the programs they provide are peer counseling sessions. Two programs for newly bereaved are offered each year; one begins the second Monday of September and the other the first Monday of March.

Lillian facilitates the ten week Newly Bereaved program that was developed by Lydia Gentile over many years dating back to 1992. Articles, DVDs and conversation are used to aid the group in working through their grief. Lillian had a career as a Junior High teacher and has worked in education and public relations through the years. She has a Masters Degree in Education. She volunteers in the program because she has seen how people are helped by it, as she was after losing her mother in 2000.

David is a university professor who facilitates the Advanced Group (individuals who have completed the Newly Bereaved program and want more information to continue dealing with their loss). David came to the program after his mother-in-law’s death in 2000. He, too, has seen the benefits of the program. Both Lillian and David wish to continue helping grievers reach their full potential as they weather the storms of grieving.

• We participate in the Living Tree Memorial Service, a helpful way for people to cope with grief and build new life from loss.
• We have full-time telephone support and offer newsletters and educational seminars to further assist those suffering through loss.

Please contact the Andrew D. Ferguson Funeral Home for any questions regarding grief support or bereavement group meetings. There is absolutely no obligation.

Bereavement groups can help. Those suffering grief often need to reach out and share their feelings, to make sense of what has happened, and to begin rebuilding their lives. Andrew D. Ferguson III helps host the Uniontown Area Bereavement Support Group’s meetings and encourages those dealing with grief to attend. Many different aspects of grief are covered, and there is always time for people to voice their feelings. Here’s an example.

GRIEF IS HARD WORK

Few people think of grieving a loss as hard work. Most people who have experienced the death of a loved one feel tremendous fatigue at times in the grief process. And the reason is that grief is hard work, relentless work, constant work. When we do housecleaning or work in our garden or do our work on the job, we can usually take a break when we feel the need. We step back, walk around a little, change our focus for a moment, or just relax. But, with grief and sorrow, there are no breaks. The loneliness is always there; there are no breaks. The loss is present, if only in our subconscious. The hurt waxes and wanes but never really leaves. No breaks. No time-outs. Just constant and hard work. And, of course, that is fatiguing to anyone. The work must be done. No one can escape it. But the good news is that those who are hard at work in grief can share their burden and lessen their load. – from the Uniontown Area Bereavement Group’s “Stepping Stones,” adapted from an article by Pastor Carl Krueger.

Please feel free to contact us if you would like information on local programs or on borrowing materials from our library.