Silent Nights
Grief, Stress, and Coping During the Holidays
Thursday, December 9, 2021 | 6:30-7:30pm CT
A virtual gathering via Zoom
Free of charge, donations welcomed
The holidays are always a time to come together, and also a time when grief and loss are felt most deeply. The pandemic has brought new grief, both individual and collective, and has also complicated the process of mourning and bereavement.
Now in its 8th year, this annual program offers a safe space to hear and share stories of grief and know that you are not alone. We will hear from members of ISH’s bereavement group and others who each have a unique experience to share.
Speakers:
JANIE HELLER
My name is Janie Heller. I am a 69 year old woman, wife, daughter, sister, mom, friend, grandma…a woman with many hats. My home is in Long Beach Ca. I have two grown sons who have lovely wives, three grandkids with another due next month, and a dog .. my little buddy.
My husband Tim passed away August 2020 after a short, aggressive battle with cancer. We fought valiantly. Until we couldn’t. I needed someone neutral to vent to. Someone who wouldn’t try to make me smile. Someone just to listen or sit with me in the quiet. The local church Grief Share wasn’t enough.
Thankfully ‘zoom’ exploded and the ISH offered their Bereavement class virtually. I sat in my first meeting last November on Tuesdays with John and then added Thursdays with Leah in March. A godsend. It hasn’t been easy. The fog is lifting and I don’t like it. Reality is hitting hard. But I take one day at a time. Put one foot in front of the other. I Step outside of my comfort zone. I breathe.
DON PAYNE
Don Payne has had a successful career. He is an award-winning television writer, director, and producer of 30+ years. He has also served as Press Secretary for several political campaigns, and Director of Communications for Houston Mayor Lee Brown. Don currently works as Manager for the Houston office of SBA Communications, an international telecommunications company.
DonActive member of First Colony Church of Christ since 2004.
Don has a deep relationship with grief, having lost two adult children. His eldest son was killed in an automobile accident, and his daughter was the victim of murder. Don believes in the presence of God with the support from grief groups and fellow faith travelers, helping him to find the strength to continue his life purpose.
Don’s interests include music, people of all kinds, podcasting, history, writing, art, religion, traveling. He is a perpetual learner who is always excited about learning new things.
MARA KURTZ
Mara Kurtz is an award-winning graphic designer, photographer and illustrator and the founder of Mara Kurtz Studio. Her work has been published in periodicals including Metropolis, New York Times Magazine, New York Magazine, Conde Nast Traveler, Travel and Leisure, and The Wall Street Journal and appears in Design Annuals for the AIGA, Communication Arts, Graphis, Art Directors Club, Type Directors Club, Society of Illustrators, and Society of Publication Design. Mara has been a Professor at Parsons School of Design, The New School Graduate Media Studies, New York University and the School of Visual Arts.
From Mara: After my husband of 40 years passed away in 2019 my life became a nightmare. It was so overwhelming to be alone and have to confront all of the challenges that come with grief. When I found the ISH bereavement group on Google I started to attend weekly meetings that have changed my life. Being with others in the same situation has been incredibly helpful, and having such kind and caring group leaders has meant the world to me. I have made wonderful friends and no longer feel there is no hope.
LEAH ADAMS PRUITT
Leah serves as Vice-President of Engagement for the Institute for Spirituality and Health at the Texas Medical Center. In this role, she fosters connections with Houston’s faith, medical, education, and community stakeholders to enhance well-being in the community through the development of an enlivened, supportive network of compassionate partners, a circle of friends, and supporters of the Institute.
Leah is a survivor of complex grief, learning about resilience from direct life experience for more than 30 years. The death of her younger brother as a teenager was devastating. Walking her mentor over a years-long battle with pancreatic cancer was raw and real. Being at the bedside during the transitions of both of her parents-in-law was deeply spiritual and heartbreaking. These events occurred in Leah’s presence, not just in her life. She openly shares her passion for healing hearts and wisdom about the grief journey so that others find their sources of resilience more quickly, less alone, and through continuing the connection with loved ones departed.
Focusing on serving grieving children, Leah has volunteered weekly for over 12 years at a Houston nonprofit organization in its traumatic death support program for children. She has witnessed over 5000 stories of traumatic grief, and holds the space for others to safely process feelings. She facilitates ISH’s Thursday evening bereavement group as well as mind-body skills groups for resilience. She is an expert in trauma-informed care and helps organizations develop healing-centered environments.
MODERATOR: VIRGIL FRY
Dr. Virgil Fry serves as the Director of ISH’s Interfaith Spiritual Care Coalition, an emergent alliance among faith communities and nonprofits to serve individuals whose spiritual resources are inadequate. Prior to joining ISH, he served as the Initial Executive Director for Lifeline Chaplaincy, a ministry to hospital patients and caregivers in multiple Texas major medical centers, for 36 years. He is author of two books, Disrupted: Finding God in Illness and Loss, and Rekindled: Warmed by Fires of Hope (Leafwood, 2007).
He also serves as adjunct professor for Abilene Christian University and Pepperdine University and is a frequent presenter for community and chaplaincy sessions on effective ministry with the seriously ill and grieving. Caryl, his wife of 33 years, passed away in 2007, and since then he also has experienced the deaths of both parents, a sister-in-law, and his father-in-law.