I would like to express appreciation for your feature stories, “Facing Grief,” in the Dec. 9 edition of The Alabama Baptist.
I am glad that Southern Baptists are placing a greater emphasis on this very important subject. While I was a student at one of our seminaries, I did not have the opportunity to attend a single course on death and grief.
I served on church staffs as a minister of education for some 27 years but it was not until I became an aftercare representative and funeral home chaplain that I became somewhat educated in grief and the death experience.
I agree, in general, with the articles with one small but important phrase. The word closure is used. We never experience closure following the death of a loved one.
The writer quotes Alan Wolfelt, Ph.D., in his article. I have learned from Dr. Wolfelt that dimension wherein the full reality of the death becomes part of the mourner;” “Death and Grief: A Guide for Clergy.” This is the textbook for a seminary extension course, “Helping Others Cope with Loss.”
Even though I have been away from Alabama for 25 years, I still enjoy reading The Alabama Baptist.
Doug Green
Belleview, Fla.
Share with others: