Transitions

Whether someone is currently grieving, or has experienced a loss some time ago, this program provides insight, hope and prayerful support as participants’ journey through the painful times of grief and loss in their life. Loss or anticipated loss of spouse or family member, loss of good health in themselves or someone they love, loss of a job, retirement from a much-loved career and the ending of a marriage or significant relationship are some of the experiences that bring people to Transitions. Transitions is offered in two formats – as a 10-week group, and as a more intense weekend or 4-7 day retreat experience at a retreat centre.

Session 1: Praying our Goodbyes

Session 2: The Foretelling of Sorrow

Session 3: Fleeing from Destruction

Session 4: Searching for Our Lost Treasures

Session 5: Meeting Our Pain

Session 6: Standing Beneath the Cross

Session 7: Embracing our Loss

Session 8: Laying our Sorrows to Rest

Session 9: Hello-Goodbye-Hello

Session 10: Social Gathering and Farewell

Transitions: A Journey of Transformation though Grief and Loss has been offered in churches and retreat centres throughout Vancouver Island since 2003 and more recently in retreat centres across Canada. A program grounded in Christian Spirituality and Prayer, this supportive group offers encouragement, companionship and insights into the often confusing, painful and lonely experience of grieving.

There is no cost to a church that hosts a Transitions group. The cost to participants is $210 or $20+/week for the 10-week program. Financial assistance is available. Each session is 2.5 hours long, and can be offered during the day or evenings. This is not a drop-in group but a program that builds from one week to the next. Participants receive a binder containing a summary of the content of each session, related articles, and questions for personal reflection and small group discussions.

When Transitions is offered at a retreat centre, costs vary. For Bethlehem Retreat Centre in Nanaimo, the cost for this program is $394. For Mount Carmel Spiritual Centre in Niagara Falls, the cost is $325. This includes all room and board expenses. Due to the intense nature of this retreat and the fact that evening sessions take place, Sarah recommends participants give themselves the gift of living in at a retreat centre – to be able to go through this journey with your attention uninterrupted will help you to get the most out of this retreat experience.

Resources used in developing this program:

Your Sorrow is My Sorrow: Hope and Strength in Times of Suffering. Joyce Rupp, The Crossroad Publishing Company, 1999.

Praying our Goodbyes. Joyce Rupp, Ave Maria Press, 1988.

My Grandfather’s Blessings: Stories of Strength, Refuge, and Belonging. Rachel Naomi Remen, M.D., The Berkley Publishing Group, 2000.

Genesis: A Personal Guide through Grief by John Kennedy Saynor, Genesis Bereavement Resources, 2001.

Feedback from past participants:

I found the time of sharing most helpful. The questions resulted in my looking at things I have given too little attention to.

Sandra Thompson, Duncan BC

Thank you for providing a safe and sacred place for us to address our sadness and pain. Thank you for the gentle understanding way you guide us though each session.

Sheila Loeffler, Ladysmith BC

Most helpful to me was the honesty, spirituality, sacredness, ritual, wonderful people, openness, sharing, and introspection. Healing, grounding – life changing!

Kevin Logie, Victoria

Most helpful for me was exploring the process of grief, normalizing it, and the emphasis on finding the gifts in our grief. I appreciated the articulate way Sarah reflected on the course content and the comments we would make Sarah has a gift in understanding what is being said even when our words are not very clear. Sarah is very skilled as a facilitator.

Amy Meerdink, Crofton BC

I enjoyed your format, the check-in at the beginning, and then the leading in to the scriptural basis, the reflection time, the small group work and the closing. All of it worked well together.

Ruth McCowan, Victoria BC

There were many aspects of this program that helped me walk through my grief and transition. Your prayerful reflections, your insightful questions and the rotating small groups all made a significant impact on me. I was especially appreciative of the ritual and visual aspects of each week. I also am grateful for the “collection” of printed notes, questions and added reflections. I have found them useful to review and ponder. I would absolutely recommend Transitions to others. Your gentle manner and astute questions and reflections created a peaceful space and a powerful experience.

The Rev. Cathy Victor, Victoria BC

This program was structured enough that I was comfortable – no individual could derail the group because of that. There was a good balance of content, quiet, personal reflection and socialization. Thanks for your time and energy Sarah – it was a valuable time for me and everyone in the group. Blessings as you continue in this ministry.

The Rev. Laura Kavanagh, Victoria BC

I would recommend this program to others. There was a great variety of losses – stories and contributions were listened to with much respect and sensitivity.

Dorothy King, Port Alberni BC

Sarah brings her gifts – all of them – to the course – the meditations by Joyce Rupp were excellent and Sarah’s interpretation in light of the “Transitions” themes was wonderful. Keep up the good (“grief”) work!

Diane Bell, Victoria BC

I found most helpful the opportunity to share my pain and sorrow with others, and the opportunity to hear their stories. I have recommended this program to others because it is a healing process – gentle, accepting – leading us forward to new beginnings. A huge part of the success of this course is due to you, Sarah. As a teacher I recognize the amount of careful study and preparation that you have to put into the course, as well as that, you bring your own life experiences and share them willingly. I thank you so much.

Pat Ormerod, Victoria BC

I felt that you, Sarah, provided a safe and sacred place for me to address my sadness and pain. I learned a lot about myself and also while taking this course I healed myself of other issues that I thought had been healed. I found the time of sharing helpful. The questions resulted in my looking at issues I had given little thought. Thank you Sarah for providing such gentleness and empathy and for guiding us through each session.

Heather King, Victoria BC

I will recommend this program to others because it can touch people in a variety of levels and helps them to connect with many issues of loss – past and present. It is faith-based, yet teaches about the universal aspects of transitioning through grief and loss. The instructor was well prepared and shares and teaches from a wealth of experience – both her own, and what she has learned from facilitating past groups.

The Rev. Scott Pittendrigh, Cowichan Bay BC

Most helpful were the stories about Mary – I felt I could really relate to them. Splitting into groups during each session for small group discussion, being able to share our pain and have it so compassionately understood was so helpful. I would definitely recommend this program to others. It really helped me to understand the grieving process and the different steps in getting through it. This retreat at Queenswood was just what I needed. It gave me insight and direction in my life. Thank you and God bless you.

Debbie Okimaw, Prince George BC

I loved the stories of Mary – I found myself feeling everything that she felt. It provided an opening to what followed in each session. I would definitely recommend this course to others. I have friends who are grieving loss of self, loss of direction – I know they could find some answers within themselves by taking this course...

Sharlene Ridgeway, Vancouver BC

Most helpful was the support of fellow participants and Sarah’s gentle spirit in guiding my journey. The program is so dynamic in its ability to change lives – it has had a profound effect on my life, assisting me to shift and release locked in emotions. Thanks Sarah for the beautiful gift of emotional healing. I will always remember our time spent together.

Ronnie Buckley, Victoria BC

The spiritual direction and nourishment I received gave me so much comfort in bearing my pain. Transitions was my sure path back into God’s embrace.

Sharlie Chatterton, Victoria BC

One of the things that was helpful was the “checking in” process each time we met. Having to think about your week made you think all week. We listened to each other with empathy and real caring. We learned to be comfortable opening up to each other. This was a safe place to reveal what was, and to explore what could be.

Mary Staniforth, Duncan BC

To me, most helpful was that this retreat was Christian based, the leadership, and that we were able to share within the guidelines of confidentiality.

Bo Chuhon, New Westminister BC

I really liked everything and how it was brought together. Thank you Sarah. This has really changed my life.

Quinnishia McCreight, Nanaimo BC

I would recommend this program to others because I have witnessed the incredible healing that took place within our group. I saw people who, in the beginning, were in desperate sadness, and finished with HOPE. This program would be a valuable addition to any Hospice program. Its essence of spirituality is healing, even among persons who do not belong to a church community.

Katherina Goodacre, Duncan BC

Most helpful to me were the stories of Mary and how her losses were applicable to how I also felt. Also helpful was the support of non-judgemental people in the group.

Liz Hensel, Cedar BC

Most helpful was the safety provided for sharing – laying our sorrows to rest – so freeing.

Linda Benoit, Regina SK

Wow, this has been a wonderful retreat – tough at times, but hope inspiring! I appreciated the format, the organization, the handouts, the balance of information and sharing as well as the use of various audio, visual and print materials. It’s a wonderful, gentle program for looking at life’s losses. A sincere and heartfelt thank you Sarah for sharing your story with us and for your gentle presence guiding us through our difficult spots on our journeys this weekend. May grace and peace be always with you.

Mona Kuzub, Saskatoon SK

I found Sarah’s personality and the content of this course very appealing. The small groups were most helpful as well. This course brought up important topics for me. The participants in our group were wonderful. I loved the honesty and the sharing. We felt safe to do our grieving together.

Madelaine Dyck, Mill Bay BC

I found the time devoted to my grieving – every week for three hours – was probably the most helpful component, particularly when combined with the experience of sharing my grief with other people who had lost loved ones. The questions Sarah had us reflect on and then share with each other were so helpful. I thoroughly and wholeheartedly recommend this program to others – particularly those who want to give themselves the time and space to acknowledge and move through their grief, and in doing so honour the impact their loved ones had in their life. At the end of the 10-week program I reflected back on the process that we had been gently led through and I felt like Sarah was conducting an unwritten orchestration – the bewilderment and sorrow and softness at the beginning to the connection and the opening to newness at the end.

Michelle Redfern, Cobble Hill BC

I felt I could share my sadness and pain, without feeling like I should just shut up. This is a place where you can share your pain – the pain the world does not understand. This group is a place where we can let go and be. I loved the direction each week – going home with hope replacing despair.

Susan Dobson, Duncan BC

Sarah made this time a safe place for us to share. Nothing was off limits when it came to our feelings. What a blessing! This program has been a freeing experience. Everyone who has experienced a loss would benefit. I wasn’t sure if this program was what I needed in the beginning BUT...it was absolutely the right thing at the right time.

Allison Asp, Victoria BC

This program allows one an opportunity to look at one’s personal loss in a safe, structured and supportive, understanding context. It allows each participant to move forward at their own pace, knowing that the handouts would allow for further reflection and inner work as needed. I also appreciated the reflection questions and the supplementary reading material that was provided.

Sr. Dawn Marie Kling OSC, Duncan BC

Transitions helped me to put my life back together, and guided me in my new walk of life without my beloved wife.

Richard Brown, Cobble Hill BC

Most helpful was the compassion from Sarah as well as from fellow travelers - this helped me to navigate the lows and highs. Weekly topics perfectly met my needs and struggles. Sarah's gentleness, compassion and understanding plus the "bond" developed among fellow travelers has indeed led to my "transition."

Chris Easly, Cobble Hill BC

The questions we were asked to answer served to clarify so much for me. Sharing my story and hearing each of the other stories - and seeing God work in our hearts over the past 10-weeks - this was so healing and encouraging.

Mary Wolfe, Victoria BC