Marco Presbyterian Church Announces Holiday GriefShare Program

Surviving the Holidays, a GriefShare program giving people guidance and encouragement to help them through the holidays, will be held at Marco Presbyterian Church on Tuesday, November 9, 2021 from 6:30 to 8:30 PM.

Additionally, mark your calendars for two more GriefShare programs in 2022. Loss of a Spouse, a one-time program, scheduled on Wednesday, January 12 from 10:00 AM to 12:00 Noon. GriefShare Grief Support Group, a 13-week video seminar and small group discussions guided by skilled facilitators, January 19 through April 13, 2022 from 10:00 AM to 12:00 Noon.

Dr. Linda Cassens will be the key coordinator/facilitator along with co-facilitators Steve Suiter and Kathy Langan. All three are Stephen Ministers. A Stephen Minister is a trained member of a church who provides confidential one-on-one care to individuals who are hurting, such as through job loss, illness, or grief. To date, over 600,000 people have trained as Stephen Ministers and they have helped over one and a half million people.

In addition to being a Stephen Minister, Dr. Linda Cassens is uniquely qualified to host GriefShare. “My first experience of grief was my daughter Deborah in 1983, age 18, in a car accident, father in 1989, my mother in 2002, my daughter Allison from colon cancer in 2004, my step-daughter Jill, age 33, a massive heart attack, and my husband Allen in 2014,” said Cassens, a Marco Island resident who has a Ph.D. from St. Louis University in Psychology with a concentration in Family Systems. “Thanks to the Lord, I was able to ‘journey through’ the sorrowful process.”

If feeling confused or isolated, GriefShare seminars and support groups are led by people who understand, and one can gain access to valuable GriefShare resources to help recover from loss and look forward to rebuilding one’s life. 

All three programs and materials are free and will be held in the church’s Fellowship Hall, room F-1. If needed, CDC guidelines will be followed for all the events. For information and to register for these events, call Marco Church, 875 West Elkcam Circle, Marco Island, FL at 239-394-8186 or visit our website at www.marcochurch.com.