Autumn Grief Tending: Song of the Ancestors

You are warmly invited to join us for a day of grief tending in community in the spirit of All Souls' Day and the Samhain tradition of honouring those who have gone before us.

There will be a particular emphasis on ancestral grief, remembering our dead and tuning in to our connection and response-ability to those not yet born. We will also be tending the other types of grief and loss that affect us on our human journey:

• current grief for bereavement, health issues and life changes
• long-term grief, passed down through families and culture
• grief for our earth, for the destruction of what we love, and for future generations
• pain for the world
• grief that feels stuck or frozen.

You may also simply want to deepen your relationship with grief as a force for personal and cultural transformation and healing, and to experience yourself as part of a community of lament. All of this and more is welcome.

Please note: bookings for this event will be closed at 10am two days before the workshop starts (i.e. Thursday 7th).

If you haven't experienced this approach before, you may find it helpful to attend our online introductory session on 30th October.

The Shape of the Workshop

We'll be checking in with what is resourcing and holding us in life at this time, through invocation and gratitude; and stirring the waters of our grief through small group practices.

We'll then move into our ceremony, and we'll finish with a time of soothing and integration.

What is Ceremony?

The idea of ceremony can feel edgy for some of us. It's a language that takes us beyond the spoken word and into the realm of symbol, poetry, song and embodied expression. We're finding our way with this, drawing on ancient wisdom traditions and modern psychology, and innovating ways of coming together that can best serve us in these times.

We have found that the safety and sanctity of the circle can help awaken the heart-knowing that exists within each of us, as together we call in the wider holding of the natural world, and of the realms above and beyond our own to support us in our grief tending. We invite you to join us on this journey of discovery.

Why Grieve Together?

There are many facets to this question. As we step into the waters of grief, we often discover that it also helps awaken our joy and our sense of aliveness.

Sharing our vulnerability and witnessing each other in our grief can be a strong medicine that helps bring us home to what it is to be fully human, in solidarity with each other and with the natural world.

In these times, as we seek new and better ways of supporting wellness and growing community and connection, being present with this most human of experiences may well be one of keys to bringing about deep personal and cultural transformation.

Have a look on our website for a longer piece reflecting on this question:
Why Grieve Together

And here are some personal testimonials to find out what others say about this work:
Testimonials

The Venue

We'll be meeting at the Sea Scouts Hall in Lakenham. The hall is spacious and beautiful with an outside area that looks out onto the flowing River Yare.

Sharing Lifts

We encourage participants to connect up with each other to arrange lift shares, to help out those who don't have transport, but also to be mindful of fuel consumption. We will send you a Google spreadsheet to facilitate lift sharing.

Mailing list

(You can join our mailing list here.

Acknowledgements

With thanks to local artist Rob Barnes for our event images. You can look at his linocut creations here

This event is organised in association with the Gathering Gates