Estes Echo

What Grief Is

Grief is the normal and natural reaction to loss of any kind.
Grief is the conflicting feelings caused by a change or an end in a familiar pattern of behavior.
Grief is emotional, not intellectual.
Grief is individual, and relates directly to the uniqueness of all human relationships. No two relationships are the same.
Grief is a crisis, and in a crisis we tend to go back to our oldest, longest-held beliefs that relate to dealing with loss of all kinds.
Grief affects each person differently, therefore the application of ideas about grief is different.

What Grief is Not

Grief is not a process.
Grief is not an identifiable set of stages.
Grief is not rational.
Grief is not a disease or an illness.
Grief is not a diagnosis.
Grief is not PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder)

Grief–the reaction to significant loss of any kind–is often either ignored, or dealt with in counter-productive ways causing unnecessary stress in many areas of life. Grief Support and Recovery is one of the 6:2 ministries, lead by Jim Jones under the oversight of the Estes elders. The 6:2 Ministry is based on Galatians 6:2 which says, “Bear one another’s burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ.”

The goal of this special support group is to provide a safe, comfortable environment–allowing confidential disclosure of personal issues and concerns. Over an 8-week program, participants are encouraged to take new actions leading to the completion of pain attached to specific losses. We are thankful to have Linda Anderson, grief recovery specialist, to lead the group. If interested in this program, you may email 62ministry@esteschurch.com or fill out a card and drop in the secure box at the 6:2 table in the side foyer.