What People Are Saying About The Program

"Everything was helpful and meaningful"

"Building relationships and trust in small groups"

"Excellent"

"Loved it...brought me comfort"

"Small groups were very helpful"

"I love the rituals, listening to the speaker and meeting new people
​who share my grief"

"This saved my emotional and mental health"

"I loved the format"

"The rituals and small groups helped me cope"

"I'm doing so much better"

"I really enjoy the small groups and personal stories"

"Makes me feel cared for"

​Grief Ministry Q &A
​
What is your ministry about?
When a loved one dies it can cause great physical and mental anxiety. At CCOP, we have a grief program that has been in development for close to 20 years and is staffed by over 25 ministers who have been through our program.They stayed on to be trained and now facilitate as ministers.
 
What makes your program different from all the other grief meetings I hear about?
We have been told by many people attending our program that our program worked for them because of the small groups. We break into groups of 3 or 4 participants with similar losses, and one or two ministers in the group who also share similar losses. This gives our participants a chance to share their feelings with a small group who work together in learning to live with their new normal life after the death
of a loved one.
 
Do you support only people from our church?
No, we are open to not only our church, but all people in the community, your friends and neighbors as well. Help your friends and neighbors who may be going through very difficult times and tell them they are welcome to be part of our grief program.
 
What is a grief meeting like if I decide to attend?
After we welcome you and give you an overview of the night, one of our ministers reads a talk they wrote, that may relate to their grief, or a subject that many times relates to the way we all feel after the death of a love one. You then receive a sheet with about three questions for your eyes only, to fill out and take with to your small group of other participants with a similar loss. After about 45 minutes in the group we return to the full group for a closing ritual and then refreshments and a chance to talk more with your fellow participants and ministers.
 
How often do you hold meetings?
We have meetings year round. We have an 8 week workshop every spring and fall, and drop in meetings between the workshops. The workshop is 8 weeks in a row, with a binder and weekly handouts to coordinate with the topic of the week. we would like you to sign up in advance and try to attend at least 7 of the meetings in order to get the full benefit of this program. After each workshop we meet twice a month for four months and you are welcome to attend as many as you want as each meeting is a different subject but without binders and handouts. we still break into small groups and have a speaker. All our meetings start at 7:30 p.m. and end about 9:00 p.m. Except for the month of January, all meetings are on Thursdays.
 
How do I find out about the meetings?
We almost always have flyers in church and our website and bulletin carry important information.You will also find the name of a contact for you questions and workshop registration.

A letter from a person who suffered a loss and went through our grief workshop.

​Date: March 9, 2018 at 9:49:28 AM PST
To: Ed Burkart
Subject: Grief Group - Catholic Church Of Pleasanton CCOP

Morning Ed

I wanted to share some info with you. In the last five weeks, two friends have lost love ones. Because of the knowledge, compassion, and skill learned and obtained at CCOP, I have been able to provide some comfort and relief.

In talking to them I told them how I went to different grief groups and was not getting the grounded enrichment that I needed…..until I found CCOP.

I explained the reasons what I found at CCOP.

You start off the evening in a big group and things were explained so calmly, Then a Grief minister shared a personal loss with the group. Then we would break into small groups, 4- 6 folks, who had the same type of loss so people who lost spouse, parent, child would be able to really understand and relate. We worked on small exercises. No side bars/cross talk in small group were allowed…only respect. Then how we would all get back in a large group for closing ceremony/mediation. Then after the closing, we would meet for social time to explore more conversation.

Because of the CCOP Grief Ministry and your personal ministering, my life was saved.

I have been looking for the same grief group format as CCOP out here in New Mexico and sadly have not found it yet.

​Please feel free to share this information with anyone and they can call me.

Regards,
Steve