BEREAVEMENT GROUP, Autumn 2022
The Southington Catholic Parishes will be offering an in-person bereavement workshop. The New Day process consists of 10 facilitated meetings, and the autumn 2022 group is being formed. The first meeting will begin Tuesday, September 13, at 6:30 PM. To enroll, or for more information, contact the parish office by telephone 860-628-4713 or email stthomassouthington@gmail.com.
A JOURNEY FOR PEOPLE COPING WITH THE LOSS OF A LOVED ONE
The Southington Catholic Parishes offer a bereavement workshop for people coping with the loss of a loved one. Three workshops are offered each year, in the spring, autumn, and winter. 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 workshop 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 workshop 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 and to enroll, please contact the parish office by telephone 860-628-4713 or by email stthomassouthington@gmail.com.
Solace and Peace is a bereavement group offered by the Southington Catholic Parishes. It consists of monthly facilitated meetings designed for people who have progressed beyond the early stages of mourning yet desire additional support in the mourning process. The meetings provide a safe and welcoming environment to help ease the pain of loss, as well as encourage healing and growth. The group meets on the second Tuesday of each month. If you would like to participate or have questions about the group, please contact Sandra Sequenzia (860) 877-2290 or 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