Ever experienced the loss of one of your children and found it impossible to move forward?
The Source Foundation is holding the Ember Grief Conference at Kingdom EMC Church to help those suffering the loss of a child in their lives. The event is on June 15 from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Rev. Kevin Cain, founder of the Source Foundation and pastor at Kingdom EMC Church, will host the Ember Grief Conference. He has had a long history of helping people in the process of grieving, having written a book on losing loved ones called “As She is Dying”. He has also officiated about 1,500 funerals as a pastor.
According to Cain, there are three reasons why the Source Foundation first started the Ember Grief Conference. “The first reason is to bring healing to the hearts of those within our community who are grieving the loss of individuals and relationships,” he explained. “The second reason is to teach caregivers of the grieving effective ways to meet the grieving with empathy, compassion and love. And the third reason is to provide resources for individuals to continue the healing and strengthening process after the conclusion of the conference.”
The other speakers featured in the conference either have experienced the loss of a child or have extensive knowledge of what that experience is like. They include:
- Country music singer-songwriter and Southern Baptist Minister Granger Smith and his wife — the keynote speakers of the evening — will talk about losing their son River in a drowning accident and what the process was like moving forward in life.
- Rev. Bob Sisler of the Morgantown Grief Center, who will speak about the experience of losing his son and what life was like afterwards.
- Malene Davis of the West Virginia Caring Hospice, who will discuss her experiences of helping those who have lost loved ones.
By attending the conference and discovering ways to deal to loss and grief, Rev. Cain hopes these individuals enter a positive path of what he calls “new normalcy.” “The one who has experienced loss bears the scars of loss and grief, but the scars of loss and grief are secondarily reminders of past wounds and primarily marks of lasting healing,” he said. “This is what we hope to bring to those who attend the conference.”
Kingdom EMC Church is located on 540 Fairmont Road, Westover. To sign up and attend the Ember Grief Conference, go to https://edgestudentministry.typeform.com/to/uUMrMZfp?typeform-source=www.thesourcewv.org
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