Monthly reflections from Kevin Keelen.
Each month, our bereavement minister Kevin Keelen shares a short reflection: a thought, a story, or a gentle companion for wherever you are on your grief journey. New writings appear here as they are published.
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Helping Others Helps
Helping Others Helps Dear Friends, As I sit down to write this morning’s reflection, at least where I live, I am enormously grateful that Hurricane Henri has proven to be no big deal, and I pray for those in its path. “We have been devastated by loss. We are tormented. Yet what happens if we…
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Survivor’s Guilt pdf
Survivor’s Guilt Dear Friends, “Survivor’s guilt tells you that you have done something wrong for merely surviving something tragic.” (Akua Boateng, PhD, LPC, Healthline) A few weeks ago, I mentioned that I would address the issue of ‘survivor’s guilt’ and particularly how it has emerged dramatically during the pandemic. After 9-11, we had a very…
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Mourning Walk
Dear Friends, I am thoroughly looking forward to our annual Mourning Walk on Sunday September 12th! I must confess that although it is VERY early in the morning, the experience of actually getting up for this particular purpose felt really good for me the past few years. I even enjoyed practicing mindfulness on the ride…
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July 18 This one’s for you Aunt Marie
This One’s For You Dear Friends, I am so grateful for the break that Stephy’s Place provided these past two weeks. We all usually need a break from something, and the relief it provides can be surprising at times. In grief, it’s very hard to catch a break. Just when we think we may be…
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Intention to Heal
The Intention to Heal Dear Friends, In every support group, I always recommend the book, Permission to Mourn, by Tom Zuba. It is an amazingly helpful and insightful book for many reasons: First and foremost is that Tom truly understands grief; he lost two children and his beloved wife in a relatively short amount of…
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Father’s Day How We Survive
How We Survive Dear Friends, Today is Father’s Day, a difficult day for me, even though it has been 38 years since I lost my dad when I was 20. I still miss my father and I still love him. I still feel his love for me, as it is part of the fuel that…
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Waiting Room
The Waiting Room Dear Friends, “The voice of grief is rather convincing, isn’t it? It tells you you’re ‘too old,’ ‘not good enough,’ or ‘not worthy enough,’ for another chance at life, that starting over is impossible. This voice in your head is the first thing you hear in the morning and the last thing…
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An After Loss Creed
An After Loss Creed Dear Friends, My sister, whose husband died suddenly and unexpectedly one year ago yesterday has decided to move closer to her daughters, and so I have been popping by to help with whatever I can. Yesterday, she handed me a stack of books about grief that family and friends have given…
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Memorial Day
Every Day is Memorial Day Dear Friends, Memorial Day isn’t just a weekend of partying that kicks off the summer, as some less enlightened people may believe it to be, it is a day of sacred and painful remembrance. Memorial Day’s origins are not clearly known, but it emerged as a day to decorate the…
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Be Not Afraid
Be Not Afraid Dear Friends, “No one ever told me that grief felt so much like fear.” (C. S. Lewis, A Grief Observed) The death of someone we love can be so shattering, so devastating and shocking, so life-altering, that it can often make us quite afraid of many things, even life itself. We can…