You are warmly invited to this afternoon Grief Circle which will be held outdoors, in beautiful woods and meadows near Hebden Bridge. This will be a chance to gather and tend to our grief in community, taking solace and inspiration in nature, and using ritual and creativity to care for and transmute our sorrow.
Location and timings
Meeting point will be sent to participants via email/text. We will be within 25 minutes walk/5 minutes by bus or car from the centre of Hebden Bridge.
1pm to 4pm.
About the Grief Circle
When we grieve it is common to feel that our sorrow and our stories of loss are not welcome, that others may find it too hard to be with our pain. It can be uncomfortable to be with our own pain and difficult to let ourselves grieve. The Grief Circle will allow space for us to gently open to our grief, share our stories, and look for ways to allow our sorrow to find space and solace. All feelings and emotions that arise will be welcome. Sometimes our stories just want to be heard and our feelings felt and allowed to be. The simple act of listening and being listened to can be transformational.
The circle will follow a simple, spacious format that will include elements of ceremony and ritual, a sharing circle, embodied practice, sound and voice, and invitations to creatively and gently express and explore our grief. The circle will guided and held with love and great care. Everything on the afternoon is offered as an invitation and nothing is compulsory.
Anyone who is experiencing grief is welcome. Grief comes in different shapes. You may be grieving the loss of someone who has died. You may be recently bereaved, or your bereavement may be many years or decades ago but still very present in your heart and mind. Grief can come into play before loss happens - you may have been given a terminal diagnosis, or perhaps you are supporting someone who has. You may be grieving for the loss of a relationship, a home, a career, or a pet. You may be grieving for the sorrows of the world, the state of our planet and climate, the devastation of our earth . You may be grieving for the terror, war or killing that is taking place in our world. You may be grieving for something you wanted or expected, but never had. You may be grieving for something that is hard to know or to name, that feels ancient or buried. All these griefs are welcome.
All the spaces that I offer are fully open and welcoming to LGBTQIA+ people.
This session will be held entirely outside and we will be walking a little way on some uneven and relatively steep paths. Walking boots or good footwear is recommended.
If you are in doubt or questioning anything and you want to have a conversation to see if this event is for you, please do get in touch. I’m very happy to talk things through before booking.
Booking
To book your place please email me at rachhawthorn@gmail.com and put "Grief Circle" as the subject line. Please call me on 07900 453912 with any questions.
Cost
Sliding scale of £25 to £45. Please consider paying as much as you can afford.
Bursary support
We are fortunate to have been offered some bursary support for people who have been given a terminal diagnosis, are nearing the end of their lives, or are caring for someone who is. If this applies to you, and you wouldn’t otherwise be able to afford to attend, please do get in touch. This bursary fund comes from End of Life Doula UK. Up to 100% bursary can be given according to need.
Refreshments
Herbal tea, fruit and homemade treats will be offered. Please bring anything else you require.
About me
Rachel Hawthorn is an artist, shroud maker and death doula. Through her own experiences of loss and grief she has found a calling to work with grief, to make shrouds and to support those who are dying or grieving. She has studied the world's religions, and has practised and lived in community within Quaker and Buddhist traditions. She has trained in Ceremony and Ritual for Death and Dying with Sacred Circle CIC, and is currently studying for a diploma in Person Centred End of Life Care with Living Well Dying Well. She has mentoring and support in place to enable her to hold grief spaces in community.
The Grief Circle will include elements of gently held, non-religious ceremony and ritual. Rachel understands ceremony as a deeply human practice of connecting with others, connecting with the wider context of our world, and finding ourselves in relationship to the mystery that may or may not exist within and all around us. Ceremony, ritual, creative and embodied practices, all held in community and held in love, can help us to acknowledge and honour our loss and grief, to experience healing and transformation, and to find a sense of peace with our place as individuals within the great cycle of life.
Quotes from previous particpants
“Rachel has a lovely, grounding presence and is definitely the right person for the job”
“I found it went deep, in a way I wasn’t expecting… You are warm, gentle, trustworthy, calm, containing and your thoughtful responses allow for difference and acceptance.”
Caring for yourself
Please note, this event is not group therapy and I am not a therapist. We will each be responsible for our own wellbeing at the retreat day. Please consider your emotional needs and capacity to engage with your grief in a group setting at this point in time, and sense into whether this circle will be the right thing for you just now. I plan to offer more dates in future if now is not the right time for you. Please contact me if you wish to discuss any of this or to understand more about the event before you book.
Contact
email rachhawthorn@gmail.com
phone 07900 435912
Find me on IG @rachhawthorn or LinkedIn /rachhawthorn