Roundtable Discussion for Bereaved Parents

July 24, 2022 — Gary and Laura House

A few months ago we enjoyed a sweet time of fellowship with other bereaved parents as we held an online question and answer time. When participants registered for the event, they submitted questions for the discussion and those who attended also suggested questions in the chat box. Covering everything from the timetable for grief (there isn’t one), to helping grieving siblings, to sharing ideas of how to help equip church leadership, we addressed each question and invited those attending to also share their thoughts and experiences in the chat area.

We recently realized that the recording was difficult to navigate without a list of questions that were addressed and the corresponding time signatures. So we put that together and for this week’s blog, we wanted to share it with you. 

If you are a bereaved parent, then we hope the discussion might be helpful to you. If you are not a bereaved parent, then perhaps listening to the questions and answers will give you insights into what your grieving friends are experiencing and will help you better be able to offer comfort and support.

Questions and Time Signatures

1. What is the worst thing to say and the best thing to say to a bereaved parent? (17:55)

2. How can someone help their grieving friend? What can they do to help? (24:10)

3. How can a bereaved parent deal with anger, guilt, and loneliness? How do we deal with all of the emotions that we are going through? (30:00)

4. Conversation about friends and family understanding and finding deep friendships with other bereaved parents (45:00)

5. How can I relate to friends and family who are sharing struggles that seem so shallow compared to what I'm going through? (51:29)

6. My heart is hurting four years later. Am I going to always hurt this badly? Will I always be grieving? (56:20)

7. What does a loving God allow so much pain and suffering? (1:05:00)

8. What are some things that we can do on our child's birthday and Heaven day? (1:10:17)

9. What is the best way to help a struggling spouse deal with the loss? What are the differences in how mothers and fathers grieve? (1:15:52)

10. How do we help grieving siblings? What can I say or do to help my surviving children? (1:22:00)

11. How do I convey my grief to our church leadership? What do pastors need to understand about parents who are grieving the loss of a child? Are there specific things we can share and what can we ask from our church leadership? (1:43:35)

12. A few books and scriptures shared for grieving parents...(1:52:08)