Grief Groups at Storybrook
You do not have to carry grief alone.
Grief can be incredibly isolating. Even when people love you, they may not know what to say. Life begins moving again while part of you is still trying to understand how everything changed.
Storybrook Grief Groups offer small, faith-integrated gatherings where grief can be spoken honestly, the person you love can be remembered, and you can spend time with others who understand something of what it means to live after loss.
Groups are offered at designated times throughout the year at Storybrook and in select surrounding communities.
You do not need to be at a certain place in your grief to come. Your loss may be recent or years ago. You may have plenty to say—or you may prefer to listen for a while.
There is no pressure to share anything you are not comfortable sharing.
Who Grief Groups Are For
Storybrook Grief Groups may be for you if you are grieving:
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The death of a parent, spouse, child, sibling, friend, or loved one
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A recent loss that still feels overwhelming
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A long-ago loss that still rises in certain seasons
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A complicated relationship with someone who has died
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A caregiving season that ended in loss
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A holiday, anniversary, birthday, or special date without someone you love
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A life that looks different now than you ever imagined
You are welcome whether your grief is fresh or has been carried for years.
You are welcome whether you cry easily, feel numb, have questions, feel angry, feel grateful, feel tired, or do not know what you feel yet.
That is understood here.
What to Expect
Storybrook Grief Groups may include conversation, Scripture and prayer, reflection, remembrance, practical help for living with grief, and meaningful activities that help give words to experiences that are sometimes difficult to explain.
The goal is not to compare losses, fix one another, or hurry anyone toward “moving on.”
It is to create a place where people can be honest about grief while remembering that the person who died was more than their death—and that their story still matters.
Storybrook’s original grief-group vision has always included guided conversation, Scripture, reflection, remembrance practices, practical grief care, and permission for each person to participate at their own pace.
A Storybrook Grief Journey
Some groups may also use The Little House That Loved the Rain along with a Storybrook grief workbook created to accompany the group experience.
Selected readings, reflections, Scripture, and guided exercises give participants something they can return to between gatherings and keep after the group has ended.
The book simply becomes another way to help us talk about dying, loss, memory, love, faith, and what it means to keep living when someone important is no longer physically here.
Where Groups May Be Offered
Groups may take place:
At Storybrook — for those able to attend on the property.
In surrounding communities — Storybrook may periodically offer groups in nearby towns through churches, community spaces, or other host locations.
Online — when an online group is being offered.
Churches, ministries, funeral homes, or community organizations may also contact Storybrook about hosting a grief group in their area.
When Is the Next Group?
Storybrook Grief Groups are not held continuously. New groups will be announced at designated times throughout the year.
If you would like to hear when the next group is forming—either at Storybrook or in a nearby community—leave your information below and we’ll let you know.
Have questions, or interested in hosting a Storybrook Grief Group in your church or community?
A Note from Michelle
I have learned, both personally and through ministry, that grief can make people feel painfully alone.
After a loss, the world often keeps moving before the grieving person is ready to move with it.
The funeral ends.
The meals stop coming.
The texts slow down.
People return to their schedules.
And the one who is grieving is still waking up every day inside a life that no longer feels the same.
That is one reason grief groups matter so much to me.
I have known grief both as a chaplain and as a daughter.
When my mother died, grief did not feel like a subject I had studied. It felt like a new life I had to learn how to live inside. It changed the way certain songs sounded. It changed ordinary days. It changed the way I understood memory, love, faith, and the ache of still wanting to tell her something.
I learned that grief is not just sadness. It is love looking for where to go.
It is the empty chair. The familiar voice you cannot call. That moment you reach for your phone and remember. The story you want to tell them because they would have understood. The strange way life can be both beautiful and heartbreaking in the same breath.
I also learned that grieving people need more than quick comfort.
They need space to be honest, remember, cry without apologizing, laugh without feeling guilty and ask their questions… the real ones.
That is the heart behind Storybrook grief groups.
They are not places where grief has to be cleaned up, explained away, or hurried along.
They are places where love is honored, stories are remembered, Scripture is held with care, and women are reminded that they do not have to walk through loss alone.
Grief is not simple.
But it can be carried with God.
And sometimes, it helps to carry it together.
- Michelle