Compassionate Friends meets Jan. 10 to discuss coping with new year

The Lighthouse Chapter of The Compassionate Friends will meet at 7 p.m., Thursday, Jan. 10, in the Branford Lounge at Epworth United Methodist Church.

The topic of the evening will be The Heck With New Year’s Resolutions...How to Cope With Another Year. Bereaved parents need to look to the future to go on with their lives. The evening will address ways newly bereaved parents as well as those whose children died years ago might handle the dark times as well as the bright ones as the new year unfolds.  Participants are asked to bring a photo of their child for the memory table and discussion.

Bereaved parents, grandparents and siblings are welcomed and encouraged to attend this support group meeting at Epworth Church on Holland Glade Road just off Route 1 north of Rehoboth Beach. For information about The Compassionate Friends call Team Co-Leader Hope Tyler, 302-645-7572 or Joan Wallen, 302-226-1623.

The Compassionate Friends was founded 40 years ago when a chaplain at the Warwickshire Hospital in England brought together two sets of grieving parents and realized that the support they gave each other was better than anything he, as a chaplain, could ever say or provide. Each chapter, along with the supporting national office, is committed to helping every bereaved parent, sibling, or grandparent who may seek support.

Today, more than 630 chapters serving all 50 states, Washington, D.C. and Puerto Rico offer friendship, understanding and hope to bereaved parents, siblings, grandparents and other family members during the natural grieving process after a child has died. Around the world, more than 30 countries have a Compassionate Friends presence, encircling the globe with support so desperately needed when the worst has happened.