A JOURNEY FOR PEOPLE COPING WITH THE LOSS OF A LOVED ONE
St.Thomas Parish in Southington offers a bereavement seminar for people coping with the loss of a loved one. Two seminars are offered each year, one in the spring and another during autumn. Participants meet for two hours, once a week for 10 consecutive weeks. Anyone who is grieving the death of a loved one is encouraged to enroll and participate at no cost.
Grief is the process by which we adapt to any significant loss in our lives and it requires honest work to make the journey to a new and hope filled day. This seminar uses The New Day Journal and process developed by Sr. Mauryeen O’Brien, OP. During each meeting participants work through an element of the grieving process using prayer, reflection and sharing. The New Day Journal is the main tool of the process and there is a little homework involved. Each week the Journal presents a set of questions for reflection whereby participants are encouraged to reflect and write out their thoughts. The journals are not handed in or graded but the participants are encouraged to share their answers with the group if and when they can muster the will to do so. Each participant must work through the grieving process in his or her own way. The facilitators and other participants are present to support them. Everything that is shared by participants during the meetings is held confidential.
The seminar facilitators are not licensed grief counselors and cannot offer counselling services. They have worked through their own grief of having lost loved ones, and they have received training by the Archdiocese of Hartford Office of Family Life. They accompany participants on their grief journey and will offer referrals if a participant’s needs are beyond the scope that can be addressed by the seminar.
The feedback from seminar participants has been positive and all have progressed in their grieving process. While the sponsor Parish and facilitators are Catholic Christians, anyone who is at ease with Christian Scripture and prayer is welcome and can participate fully.
For more information or to enroll please call Vinny Raby at 860-628-9425 You may also call the Parish office 860-628-4713.
Mission Statement
We are a community of people from various places, walks of life, and religious expressions of Christian faith who gather under the auspices of Saint Thomas Parish to reenact the Passion, Death and Resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ through the “Passion Play”.
Our goal is to build the Christian community of Southington through the gathering of prayer, by producing a theatrical offering of thanksgiving to God by using our talents for His Glory and for the sake of the Gospel.
We wish to accomplish this by offering a safe, dignified, respectful and loving community. All who wish to participate in this prayer are welcome. No one will be judged for where they are in their walk with the Lord. We discriminate against no one. We value all aspects of participation, and every sacrifice made to our common goal. We do not offer our identities in either our public literature or to the media.
We seek to offer a true and heart-filled prayer to God in thanks for the offering of His Son, as well as the blessing of community through the Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirit.
Passion Play page
Have you been thinking of becoming a Catholic or have you missed receiving the sacraments of Baptism, Eucharist or Confirmation? Do you know someone of another faith tradition who is interested in joining our Catholic Faith? Our parish community has a solution for you through the RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults). RCIA is a process for faith conversion; a process for unbaptized persons to join the Catholic Church; for Catholic baptized persons to receive the Sacraments of Eucharist and Confirmation; and also baptized persons from other denominations to come in full communion with the Catholic Church. RCIC is the Rite of Christian Initiation for Children. Anyone interested in learning more about the Catholic Faith and possibly becoming a member of our parish community is invited to contact Sr. Marie at 860-621-1904.