Submitted information | For The Arkadelphian

Arkadelphia’s First Baptist Church will begin offering a grief support ministry, GriefShare, on Monday for anyone in the area who has experienced the loss of a spouse, child, family member or friend.

Thirteen weekly meetings will be held from 6-7:30 p.m.  Mondays from Sept. 26-Dec. 19 near the FBC Fellowship Hall, off the church’s south parking lot, in room 112. Register or find more information at www.griefshare.org.

More than 15,000 churches throughout the U.S., Canada and 10 other countries have hosted GriefShare sessions since 1998. Each session features an information-packed video seminar. Then, local participants discuss the video content. A workbook offers journaling and personal study exercises that reinforce weekly session topics.

Topic titles include Grief and Your Relationships, Challenges of Grief, the Journey of Grief, Guilt and Anger, Lessons of Grief, and What Do I Live for Now?

“We’ve seen the power of this ministry at work in one of our members who has done GriefShare at a Benton church,” said Will Thompson, FBC associate pastor of worship, who’s coordinating the Arkadelphia sessions. “We’re glad to now offer this here for anyone in the area who’s faced the challenges of coping with loss.”Participants are welcome to begin attending the FBC GriefShare group at any point. Each session is “self-contained,” but participants are also able to pick up any missed sessions over the 13-week cycle. GriefShare encourages participants to experience a “journey from mourning to joy.” It’s also based on the idea that grief lingers for months and even years after a funeral.

For more information, call the church at 870-246-5587.