Grief workshop and labyrinth walk set April 25 Lewes

Delaware Hospice, Milton Wellness Center and St. Peter’s Episcopal Church will sponsor a grief workshop and labyrinth walk from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., Saturday, April 25, at St. Peter's Parish Hall in Lewes. Anyone coping with a loss or supporting a grieving family member or friend is invited to attend this free workshop.

Mary Van House is a former hospice grief counselor now in private practice at Milton Wellness Center. She is a certified labyrinth facilitator and has been offering labyrinth events to promote healing and inner peace for 20 years. Using a 30-foot-diameter canvas labyrinth that she helped create for St. Peter’s in Lewes, she will introduce participants to the labyrinth as a meditative technique and a tool for healing.

“This workshop will use the labyrinth as a gentle but powerful method to move us along in our grief journey. The winding path becomes a mirror for where we are in our lives, drawing on our inner wisdom to bring comfort and insight, and opening us to new possibilities,” Van House said.

Midge DiNatale, a Delaware Hospice bereavement counselor, will speak about grief and ways to cope with it. She is a compassionate counselor who understands grief on a personal level because she lost her son. DiNatale noted, “Walking the labyrinth can foster a sense of inner peace and comfort. Taking advantage of other supportive services that Delaware Hospice provides can also bring much comfort, and we urge anyone who is feeling isolated and/or depressed to call us to learn more about our programs and services.”

The third workshop speaker will be Gail Sobotkin, a retired community health nurse and author, who will talk about her personal experiences walking labyrinths while grieving. Sobotkin wrote about those experiences in an article published in the September issue of Delaware Beach Life magazine titled, Exploring Life’s Twists and Turns.

“The first time I walked the labyrinth after my mother’s death I reached the heart of it and stood there for a long while, communing with her about intensely private things. When I had nothing more to say I took the coiled pathway back out, feeling surprisingly peaceful. Since then, I’ve continued to walk the labyrinth when I miss her because it helps ease the ache of loss, and it’s a lovely way to honor her memory,” said Sobotkin.

During the last part of the workshop the lights will be dimmed, and participants will have the opportunity to walk the path of the indoor labyrinth, experience the outdoor labyrinth on St. Peter’s grounds, experiment with finger labyrinths, and spend time for reflection and journaling as soothing music plays in the background.

St. Peter’s Parish Hall is at Second and Mulberry streets, Lewes. Space will be limited, so preregistration is required. For registration or more information, contact Midge DiNatale at 302-300-2179 or mdinatale@delawarehospice.org or Mary Van House at 302-542-8878 or mvanhouse_@hotmail.com.