Standing at Each Other's Side

on November 17, 2011 by Walt Dilg

WORDS FROM WALT: Standing at Each Other’s Side

My dad and mom died within a couple years of each other.  My dad’s death was expected, he had been ailing for years; mom’s caught us a bit by surprise.  Yet whether you think you are prepared or not, a loved one’s death can through you for a loop. 

Being the youngest child, it seemed to hit me the hardest.  Yet as I write that, I think it’s me being caught up in myself too much and not realizing the full extent of my sisters’ grief.  And that just as it is with grief – it’s ours, and it comes in many shapes and forms, and however it is we experience it that’s how it’s going to be.

My congregations helped me a lot in my grieving.  They did their best to stand alongside me and help me find my way. I so many ways, they supplemented the support and care I received from my immediate family.  This is the church at its best for which I am most thankful. 

Our church wants to be this type of church for our members.  I hope you have some dear friends in the church who would be at your side through the thin and thick of grief.  I know liturgy helps too, so I want to draw you attention to two upcoming services that will congregants in their grief.  All-Saints Service is on November 6^th and is a service in which those who have passed on to life eternal these last 12 months will be memorialized.  And a new service on December 21^st called Blue Christmas will be provided to help us find comfort and hope during the holidays amid our grief.  Whether our grief is raw or tempered by time, both services will be of value to our spirits.  Most importantly, we will be given the opportunity once again to stand at each other’s side and help one another move along the journey.