MONTE VISTA — GriefShare is a support group where people can find support, direction, and help after a loved one’s passing. GriefShare classes have become available in Monte Vista. The group will meet for 13 weeks from 6:30 to 8 p.m. on Wednesdays, beginning on Feb. 7, at the Valley Church of the Nazarene. The public is invited to attend.

Coordinator for the group Shirley Berg, said there are three aspects to the group. There is a video seminar, a 30-minute video.

“That video has been done with advice and wisdom, from counselors and pastors, people who have been through grief. After that, the group will spend most of the time with discussion, like what was presented in the videos,” she said.

Berg said that discussion is optional in the group.

“All you really have to do is come, if you don’t want to discuss anything you don’t have to,” she said.

Berg said that each participant would have a workbook.

“There are some questions that people can work on during the week. If people are not at the point where they are able to do that though, they don’t have to. We understand that people that are going through grief may not be there at that point.”

Berg said that there is a $20 fee for the workbooks, but scholarships are available through the church.

Berg said that GriefShare is a national program and is generally geared toward the actual death of a loved one, a family member of a friend. Berg said that there would be a different topic each week.

“They have different topics, your grief journey, sadness and loneliness, fear and anxiety, anger, regret, grief and your relationships, hope and resilience, and many more,” she said.

Berg said her pastor approached her and asked her if she would be willing to facilitate the group. She also had a major loss in 2022.

“I lost my husband a few days before Christmas in 2022,” Berg said. “I have been on my own grief journey. When he came to me it had not been a year yet, and I was like OK, let me just think about this. I started looking and going to the GriefShare website. I looked at it, prayed about it, and thought yes, I think I am supposed to do this. Another interesting thing, I also joined an online widows' group. I heard it recommended over and over again, to join a GriefShare group. Everyone I know has just said wonderful things about GriefShare so that’s what made me decide.”

Berg said that her husband went through a 4-year battle with cancer, and if she can help others, she really would like to.

“It’s normal to be reluctant and concerned about coming and joining and sharing something that is so painful, and so personal,” she said. “This is why this group was created though. It is so helpful and so healing to come and be with people who understand your pain, and to have others to walk alongside you through it. This program has been carefully developed to cover the things that people go through. I think that my own loss, is very relatable.”

For more information on the group or to register, contact the Valley Church of the Nazarene at 719-852-5858.