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| Carl Kemp of Knights Creek Evangelical Methodist Church of Scio, center, discusses three upcoming holiday seminars with facilitators Casey and Anita Jones. |
A Scio church is seeking to help individuals throughout
Allegany County who often find the upcoming holidays to be more of a dread than
joyful.
Knights Creek Evangelical Methodist Church will host three
different seminars for those having experienced separation or divorce, the
death of a loved one, or trying to help children grieving a wide variety of
losses. It also is seeking other sites in the county in upcoming weeks before
Christmas to expand this assistance.
GriefShare Surviving the Holidays will be held from 1:30
p.m. to 3:15 p.m. Sunday, November 5, with DivorceCare Surviving the Holidays
being offered from 3:45 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. the same day in the church fellowship
hall at 2987 Knights Creek Road (County Road 9) at Scio.
Help Grieving Children, to assist parents, grandparents,
other family members and individuals, such as teachers and youth workers, who
are involved with children experiencing all types of loss situations, will be
offered from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Monday, November 6, at the same location.
Pastor Carl Kemp said the church decided to offer the
seminars due to a void in the area in helping individuals and families who may
be struggling from such losses, even many years later. The sessions also will
be open to anyone wanting to learn more about how to aid family members and
friends who struggle during the holidays without actually creating greater pain
for them.
The church will seek to extend these opportunities to
individuals who may not be able to travel significant distances by working with
other churches and community-based organizations located in other areas of the
county, he said.
GriefShare and DivorceCare are internationally-acclaimed
seminars that are Christ-centered but open to persons of any faith, according
to the pastor. They include a DVD presentation, combined with discussion
conducted in a non-judgmental environment in which individuals are able to
express their feelings, if they desire, rather than avoiding and anguishing
over them.
Some of the nation's best known Christian authors,
counselors and pastors, many of whom also have experienced losses, provide insight
on how to handle unsettling situations that occur during the holidays. An
accompanying survival guide provides many tips on how to deal with various
circumstances.
Casey and Anita Jones will facilitate the groups, both
having experienced trauma associated with divorce and deaths of loved ones,
along with impacts on children. Casey Jones has been facilitating seminars of
this type, along with other support groups, for a dozen years in both New York
and Pennsylvania. There is a $5 fee for the Surviving the Holidays survival
guide, with no cost for the Help Grieving Children seminar.
Further information and requested registration are available
from Casey Jones at bps461@msn.com or (484) 435-0503 and at www.facebook.com/KnightsCreekEvangelicalMethodistChurch.
Churches and community groups that would like to engage in offering additional
sessions during the holidays season in other county locations also may contact
Jones.
Pastor Kemp said that offering the new seminars reflects an ongoing
desire by Knights Creek to serve as “the little country church with the heart
of Christ.”
The church also offers various activities during the week
for the public, including a 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 a.m. weekday community prayer
gathering for national, state and local issues affecting families. Further information about the church is available at www.knightscreek.org.
