The
compassionate friends mission is to assist families in the positive resolution of grief
following
the death of a
child and to provide information and education to help others be supportive.
We are a national nonprofit, self-help organization with almost 600 local chapters
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Dear
Bereaved Parents:
We feel the pain of your
loss and invite you to share your grief with us.
We, too, have lost a child. We are the surviving parents, grandparents, siblings and loved
ones.
The death of a loved one causes stress, but the death of a child is particularly severe.
This loss is considered premature at any age and symbolizes the destruction of our hopes
and future.
Our meetings are informal and both the newly bereaved and the longer bereaved are welcome.
When you attend our meetings, you are free to ask questions, share your stories or just
listen.
- The Compassionate Friends
THE COMPASSIONATE FRIENDS SPRING
HILL/BROOKSVILLE
CHAPTER SUPPORT GROUP FOR BEREAVED PARENTS
NEXT MEETING DATE
Meets at 7:30 P.M on the 2nd Thursday of every month at Oak Hill Hospital Enrichment Center,
No membership due or fees required.
Our meetings are open to all family members who are grieving the death of a child,
with the exception of young children due to the nature and topics of our discussions.
There is no religious affiliation. There is a free chapter lending library and a free monthly newsletter.
We offer a safe place for bereaved parents, grandparents and siblings to meet and talk freely
about your child and your grief issues. No one is required to speak, but non-judgmental listening is expected.
Our Beliefs
Bereaved parents can help each other toward a positive resolution of their grief.
We offer support and understanding.
We offer an opportunity to share and learn from each other.
We never suggest that we know all the answers.
We have loved, therefore we grieve. We are willing to share your sorrow.
We do not offer professional psychotherapy or counseling.
We need not walk alone. We are the Compassionate
Friends.
We reach out to each other with love, With understanding and with hope.
Our children have died at all ages and from many different causes,
but our love for our children unites us. Your pain becomes my pain
just as your hope becomes my hope. We come together from all walks of life,
from many different circumstances. We are young and we are old.
Some of us are far along in our grief, but others still feel a grief so fresh
and so intensely painful that we feel helpless and see no hope.
Some of us have found our faith to be a source of strength,
some of us are struggling to find answers. Some of us are angry,
filled with guilt or in deep depression. Others radiate inner peace.
But, whatever pain we bring to this gathering of the Compassionate Friends,
it is pain we share just as we share with each other our love for our children.
We are seeking and struggling to build a future for ourselves,
but we are committed to building a future together,
as we reach out to each other in love and share the pain as well as the joy,
share the anger as well as the peace, share the faith as well as the doubts
and help each other to grieve as well as to grow.
WE NEED NOT WALK ALONE
WE ARE THE COMPASSIONATE FRIENDS
How It All Began….
Founded in 1969, in Coventry England, This
group was started when Reverend Simon Stephens
encouraged two families to get together and talk after the deaths of their sons. The two
families
formed an immediate bond as they talked freely about their boys, sharing their memories
and dreams.
The families continued to meet regularly and decided to form a self-help group to actively
reach out
to newly bereaved parents. This new organization was called “The Society of
Compassionate Friends.”
There are now Compassionate Friends chapters in every state of the United States
and hundreds in Canada,
Great Britain and other countries around the world. We encourage other family members,
especially siblings,
to share in our task of mutual support. We hope you understand our request to
limit attendance
to teens and older.
________________________________________________________________________
The Living Memories Garden
In 1993, our chapter
received permission to build our Living Memories Garden behind
the Heritage Museum in Brooksville. It is a beautifully landscaped setting
with marble benches.
Each bench holds the names of our children that have died. Parents make a
donation to put their child’s
name on a bench. This donation helps pay to keep our garden beautiful.
Please contact our chapter for more information on our garden. It was created in memory of
our children.
For more info: Email Diane at sniderhirsch1.msn.com
Click on the flowers below to view our chapters memorial garden
Can't hear this
beautiful song? Click here
to download Microsofts free music player
Song playing: Precious Child
Written & Sung by: Karen Taylor Goode - TCF
Lyrics
In my dreams
You are alive and well
Precious child, Precious child
In my mind, I see you clear as a bell
Precious child, Precious child
In my soul, There is a hole,
that can never be filled
In my heart, there is hope
cause you are with me still.
In my heart, you live on
Always there, never gone
Precious Child
You left so soon
Though it may be true that were apart
You will live forever,
in my heart.
In my plans,
I was the first to leave
Precious child, Precious child
But in this world,
I was left here to grieve,
Precious child, My precious child
In my soul, There is a hole,
that can never be filled
But in my heart, there is hope
and you are with me still
In my heart, you live on,
Always there, never gone
Precious child, you left too soon
Though it may be true, that were apart
You will live forever, in my heart
God knows I want to hold you,
feel you, touch you
and maybe there is a Heaven
and some day I will again
Please know your not forgotten
Until then...
In my heart, you live on
Always there, Never gone
Precious Child
You left too soon
Though it may be true, that were apart
You will live forever
in my heart!
Visit The TCF National Organizations website: www.compassionatefriends.org
National office’s toll free # (877) 969-0010
Email our Spring Hill TCF Chapter Leader -
The Compassionate Friends Spring Hill/Brooksville Chapter
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