The Sacred Invitation of Grief
Sat, Apr 20
|Hone Quarry Campground
On this Saturday between the traditional Christian observances of Good Friday and Easter - between death and rebirth, we will create space for grief. Historically, grief processes have been communal, held by ritual and shared compassion. It is only by allowing it that transformation can unfold.


Time & Location
Apr 20, 2019, 9:30 AM – 4:30 PM
Hone Quarry Campground, Hone Quarry Rd, Dayton, VA 22821, USA
Guests
About the Event
In a season of unraveling, when the landscape of our inner and outer world is shifting, we can feel overwhelmed...Our own losses, the way life has turned out differently than we'd thought, the state of our politics, the extinction of animals and pollution of waters and earth. We will be guided through the "5 gates of grief" outlined by Francis Weller in his book, The Wild Edge of Sorrow: Rituals of Renewal and the Sacred Work of Grief.
In Western culture, grief is sidelined as weak or unimportant and we seek distraction or denial in an attempt to hide it, rather than allowing the natural process to unfold. And our bodies, and relationships and world suffer for it. Historically, grief processes have been communal, held by ritual and shared compassion. It is only by allowing and tending to it that allows transformation to unfold into a force that allow us to live and love more fully.
We will journey together with one another and with the wild ones through guided meditations, poetry, journaling, time for wanderings, silence, and sharing. We will have ritual with fire and listen deeply to our own bodies, our soul, our human and other-than-human kin, to the Divine that dwells in each one.
There is enough for us to grieve in our own lives and in the unraveling of our world. It need not overwhelm us as we invite it and hold it and let it go as a community and as holy ones standing on the threshold of new life.
Please arrive no later than 9:00 or 9:15 to settle in before we begin promptly at 9:30. Also, bring a bagged lunch for our break and your own reusable bottle of water. We will have snacks and more water available. Bring a journal and pen, a comfortable folding chair, and comfortable walking shoes. Best to dress in layers with warm sweatshirts and teeshirts underneath. Please note that location may change, so please check back. For more information: svchurchofthewild@gmail.com