Today I sit down with Rev. Terry Oliver to discuss the topic of grief and loss. 
Terry has a passion and gift for bereavement ministry that stems from his own personal experience of loss combined with decades of pastoral care. My years as a hospice chaplain, working with dying patients and their families, taught me to appreciate the sacred space and grace that one enters when grieving, and when coming alongside those who grieve.

Usually I promise to talk about Jesus and talk about twenty minutes. Well, this podcast runs closer to a half hour, but I think you’ll find Terry’s insights more than worth your time. 
(Sorry, no transcript of this episode!)

John 11:32-37

32 When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”

33 When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. 34 “Where have you laid him?” he asked.

“Come and see, Lord,” they replied.

35 Jesus wept.

36 Then the Jews said, “See how he loved him!”

37 But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?”

The Grief Share Open House is this Thursday, September 24, from 1 to 3pm at Faith Lutheran, 1212 Connection Street in Shelton. Go to the North Entrance, and of course please wear a mask and observe all the social distancing protocols. The Grief Share classes will start in October and run through mid-December. 

For more information about Grief Share or other ministries of Faith, you can go to our website, www.faithshelton.org. You can also listen to or subscribe to this podcast through Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or any other way you listen to podcasts. Thank you for your ongoing financial support—our online giving option was having a glitch last week, but we should have that up and running by now.

And if this message has touched your heart or helped you recognize and unresolved loss or grief in your life, contact the church office, or email welcomehome@faithshelton.org, and a member of the pastoral staff will contact you to offer prayer, support, and compassion.

Benediction

Terry alluded to a Bible verse that seems like a good way to end today’s podcast, 2 Corinthians 1:3-4.

3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.

Amen.