Recently, I was honored to deliver a eulogy for the adult son of one our eldest church members. After the memorial service, I had 2 conversations with another minister and the funeral director that inspired me to write this post. Here are 4 tips to consider when you’re called upon to preach a eulogy. 1. … Read more
This is my final segment on Dealing With Grief. I wasn’t sure if I could write the last section because I didn’t know if I was emotionally ready to move forward. Recent events changed all of that. On Thanksgiving night, 24 year old Shuntell Turk was murdered by her boyfriend. My family has known Shuntell … Read more
WebMD.com has the following description of the anger stage of grief: http://www.webmd.com/mental-health/mental-health-coping-with-grief Anger: This reaction usually occurs when an individual feels helpless and powerless. Anger can stem from a feeling of abandonment through a loved one’s death. An individual may be angry at a higher power or toward life in general. When my uncle, Shun was … Read more
As a small child I was very close to my great grandmother, Lucille Mason Bishop (Big Mama). My cousin Chris said everyone in our family has a “favorite family member”. Big Mama was my favorite. She was my Saturday morning coffee drinking buddy. She was my friend. When I was 9 she became ill. I … Read more
Another stage of the grieving is Bargaining. According to WebMD “This stage may involve persistent thoughts about what could have been done to prevent the loss. People can become preoccupied about ways that things could have been better. If this stage is not properly resolved, intense feelings of remorse or guilt may interfere with the … Read more
In my research on grief, I’ve stumbled across information on five stages. The stages are not sequential, meaning, we don’t experience them in any particular order. Depending on the circumstances, we may experience one or all of the stages in random order. Ultimately, we want to reach the Acceptance stage. The five stages of grief … Read more
I’m a Pastor and in my role, I’m occasionally tasked with ministering to families and individuals who are experiencing grief. Some are grieving over the loss of a loved one. A few may be grieving over the loss of a job or opportunity. Still others grieve over broken friendships and broken hearts. I’m not immune … Read more