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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Surviving the
1 Surviving the Holidays in 2021 For those who are grieving, the holidays can often loom as a horror hanging just over the horizon. Keeping in mind that everyone grieves differently, it’s pretty universal that the holiday season can magnify our feelings of loss and sorrow. These future dates can be so all-consuming that they…
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12 Days of Christmas
Dear Friends, I so enjoyed a piece I recently read, that I want to share it with you today in its entirety. It is a take on the 12 Days of Christmas cleverly written for those who are grieving during this pandemic. It is authored by Shirley Blanch, a Mindfulness Coach, Speaker and Writer from…
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Holiday Prayer
Dear Friends, There has certainly been a heaviness to our groups the past few weeks, which is not unexpected as the heightened holiday hype always has a way of turning up the heat on grief. But for those who are mourning, this year, this infamous year of 2020, with the ongoing pandemic and social division,…
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Day of Giving
December 1st , 2020, is Giving Tuesday, a day in which people are being called to unite for a worldwide celebration of generosity, – giving their voice, time, money, goods, and advocacy to support communities, charities and causes that are close to our hearts. And so today I am sending out this reflection so that…
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Somewhere to go
November 22, 2020 Somewhere to go Dear Friends, I read an article from People Magazine yesterday about a grandmother, who in 2016 thought she was texting her grandson to invite him to Thanksgiving dinner, but it went to another phone of a 17 year old boy who, as it turned out, had no family or…
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Thanksgiving
November 15, 2020- Thanksgiving Dear Friends, I know I have addressed this topic before, and I am certain I will many times again, but with Thanksgiving arriving next week, I could not think of a better thing to reflect upon than just that: thanksgiving. “Thanking others, thanking ourselves, Mother Nature, or the Almighty – gratitude…
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Jeopardy of Loss
Dear Friends, Just about every evening for the last ,,, too many years to count, like so very many of you, I have sat down to watch Jeopardy at 7pm, – a time around mealtime when we share life together, a time for talking, laughing, quiet banter or friendly, fun competition with our partner or…
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Surviving the Holidays
1 November 2, 2020 Surviving the Holidays 2020 I think by now it’s pretty unanimous that 2020 be just a distant memory, but alas, we have a bit more to get through before then, and so I would like to offer a few gentle suggestions, if you will, for us all to get through the…
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Getting unstuck
October 25, 2020- Getting Unstuck Dear Friends, I’d like to start today’s reflection with the one that Dr. Alan Wolfelt wrote for today’s date: “Some people get congealed in grief. Someone who means the world to them dies… and they get stuck. They become mired in the mud of their loss, and they sit down…
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Pierce
Dear Friends, This week’s reflection does not come from me, but rather a dear friend who three years ago last week lost her 16 year old son to suicide. Sheila and I were so deeply touched and inspired by her words, thoughts, feelings, and transfixing honesty, that we asked her if she would mind us…