It’s now 3 years since we said goodbye to my mum and Sarah’s dad within the space of a few weeks. In both cases, there was an unexpectedness although we were aware of serious health conditions. In mum’s case, she had gone into hospital for surgery on a hiatus hernia but didn’t recover from the… Continue reading Home and grief
Tag: grief
Christians and long-term grief
I’m continuing to do some work on how Christians can walk alongside each other through grief. Partly, that’s about how do we all as believers bare one another’s burdens and partly it’s about how pastors and elders can particularly support church members but it is also about what it means for those of us who… Continue reading Christians and long-term grief
For all the Saints
Did you know that today is “All Saints Day”? That’s where we get the name Halloween from. It’s literally All Hallows Eve or All Saints Eve. The idea was that this was a day to remember all the minor, lesser known saints who didn’t get a saints’ day, a catch all if you like. Protestants… Continue reading For all the Saints
Pastoring the grieving: The funeral
An important part of looking after people through grieving is the funeral which offers some form of closure. Although it is not the end of grieving, it does provide a marker, enabling the bereaved to move on with the next phase of their life. There isn’t really a right or wrong way to hold a… Continue reading Pastoring the grieving: The funeral
What happens when we die?
It’s funny, the things we get finicky about and the things we relax about when someone dies isn’t it? I was intrigued by one conversation I observed on social media following the death of the late pope. It was in response to Stephen Kneale’s excellent article about how we should respond to the news. As… Continue reading What happens when we die?
Why God is not an emotionless firefighter (or why we need to pick better illustrations)
One of the reasons why I think a lot of people struggle with the idea of “Divine Impassibility” is that sadly it is often badly represented. Take for example, an essay that Matthew Barrett wrote for The Gospel Coalition website. In the article, he talks about how whenever someone shares about a tragedy they have… Continue reading Why God is not an emotionless firefighter (or why we need to pick better illustrations)
Blue Christmas … What I need for Christmas
Some people have started a tradition of using the shortest day and longest night to specifically mark the occasion for those who for various reasons will find Christmas especially hard. I wrote this article two years ago in the face of raw grief. I am reposting it today hoping it will be of help to… Continue reading Blue Christmas … What I need for Christmas
Pastoring the Grieving – Give them context
I noticed that this Sunday, a few churches made assisted dying and the Christian response their sermon topic. I couldn’t help think that it was a little bit late for this. Yes, the Bill has still got further stages to go but the wheels are already serving motion. More than that though, now is too… Continue reading Pastoring the Grieving – Give them context
Grief … Two years in
I’ve been sharing a few posts recently on pastoring people through seasons of grief. We are just coming in to the second anniversary of what was a challenging time for our family. Today marks two years since my father in law died. A few weeks later my mum also died after going into hospital for… Continue reading Grief … Two years in
Pastoring the grieving: walking with a family when the decision comes to end treatment
I’ve been sharing a few articles about how we pastor people through bereavement. In a previous article, I wrote about walking with a family through a coroner’s investigation and inquest process. In that article, I alluded to the fact that the time leading up to death may not be straight forward. When it comes to… Continue reading Pastoring the grieving: walking with a family when the decision comes to end treatment
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