Our Sacred Grief: A Community Gathering and Ritual

Our Gathering:

As long as there has been love, there has been loss. Sorrow is as natural as the sky, the seasons, the earth. So interwoven into life, grief touches us all.

As something that is shared by all, the expression of grief has traditionally been communal and held as a necessary and sacred process in life. Yet too often in modern times we hesitate to express our grief, holding our sorrows privately and at times with the hidden burden of shame. Our sufferings tend to go underground, unexpressed, away from compassionate eyes that could offer healing.

This weekend, as a community, we will restore and reclaim the shared conversation on the place of grief in our lives. Join us as we create sanctuary and share our stories of loss, death and suffering, both personal and communal.

Utilizing powerful tools offered to us by Francis Weller, author of The Wild Edge of Sorrow, we will use writing practices, as well as drumming, poetry, singing, movement and ritual to invite grief out of it's hiding places. Together we will carry our stories into the visible world where they can be held within the healing embrace of beauty and community. Come experience the authentic and embodied joy that can be found when sorrow has been made sacred. We hope to see you there.

Location: 

Banner Community Grange, 12629 McCourtney Rd, Grass Valley, CA 95945

Schedule:

Thursday, October 17    6pm - 8pm
Friday, October 18       10am - 5pm
Saturday, October 19   10am - 5pm

*Please arrive early on each day to allow yourself time to settle in.


Lodging:

This is a non-residential gathering. Information on local lodging as well as restaurants HERE

Food:
Please bring a ready-to-eat lunch on Saturday and Sunday. Snacks, as well as teas and coffee will be provided throughout the weekend.

Sliding Equity Scale:

The sliding scale for this event is $325 - $395.
Please consider both your class background and earning power when choosing your price on our scale. Choose a price on the scale that you feel is fair. Not everyone can or should pay the same price for gatherings of this kind. A dollar is not the same dollar in our current systems of power and privilege. Sliding scales are often based on individual income levels, with people of higher incomes paying more. However, many factors complicate and affect our financial status. Some groups of people have costs that the larger population does not. Others have access to resources that are not always reflected in their lifestyle choices and income levels. Thank you to Sarah Byrden at The Elemental Self for this wording and approach to sliding equity scales.

Additional Discounts:

We have a limited number of additional discounted and partial work/trade tickets available. Please contact us at sacredworkofgrief@gmail.com for more information.

Refunds:

Refunds are available until October 10th. Refunds up until October 10 will include your ticket cost minus Humanitix fees and a $15 venue deposit fee. No refunds within 7 days of the event.
If the event is cancelled due to extreme weather or other unforeseen emergencies, full refunds will be offered minus the venue deposit fee of $15 per ticket.


Donations:

Part of our proceeds go to helping build infrastructure for healthy water access for the Dagara Tribes of Burkina Faso, West Africa. To donate, please check out The Sonder Project for more info on their work in West Africa.

Facilitators:

Shellee A Sepko, LMFT (she/her) has been mentored by Francis Weller in soul work, ritual facilitation and the alchemy of transformation since 2018. She is a Jungian psychotherapist and Executive Director of What’s Up Wellness, a youth-serving organization in Nevada and Placer Counties.

Danelle Riles, LCSW (she/her) is a neurodiversity affirming psychotherapist and certified integrative health practitioner. She has a private practice in Nevada City. Her work is trauma-informed as well as guided by Internal Family Systems and the Jungian perspective. Since finding Francis Weller's work, she believes grieving in community is a key missing piece toward our individual and collective healing.

Judy Lay, Rev, PhD (she/her) is committed to bringing the place of Elder into community life for the health and well being of all inhabitants on this sacred Earth. Certified End of Life Doula. Volunteer for Hospice, facilitating bereavement groups and sitting with people as they are dying. Ordained as a Minister of Walking Prayer in 2011, Judy offers rituals and ceremonies for women at various stages of life.