Activity time: 10 minutes

Distribute Handout 2, Ways to Cope with Grief and ask participants to read it. Invite them to gather in a circle, and, as they are ready, to read one item from the handout that appeals to them or to share their own way to cope with grief.

Share these closing words from Doug Manning, author of The Grief Journey:

Don’t let anyone take your grief away from you. You deserve it, and you must have it. If you had a broken leg, no one would criticize you for using crutches until it was healed. If you had major surgery, no one would pressure you to run a marathon next week. Grief is a major wound. It does not heal overnight. You must have time and the crutches until you can heal.

Extinguish the chalice.