The GriefShare Ministry at KIUMC invites you to participate in our “Lights for Sandy” tribute on New Year’s Eve, between the hours of 7 pm to 11 pm. We have seen the devastation of Hurricane Sandy and the pain of the victims’ loss.  Now again as a nation in mourning over the loss of 26 precious lives at Sandy Hook Elementary School.  We ask that you take a minute or five to participate in a time of silence and prayer for the victims, the survivors, the families and the friends… of SANDY.

The GriefShare Ministry team will be assembling 1000 luminary lights kits, to include ‘sand’ . We will have them ready to be distributed on December 28th through the 30th. We will be giving them out to the community as well as the attendees at our Kent Island United Methodist Church Sunday services on December 30th. Our hope is that this will spark others to do the same, whether individually or collectively, whether a candle or an luminary.

The families of the Sandy Hook Elementary School are about to face a devastating period of grief, an extremely complicated period of mourning. Our ministry knows that there can be healing, that it is a process that requires a lot of prayer and a lot of support. Soon the media will be gone, others will resume their own routines and, yes, they will mourn together, but each separately and uniquely. The way we grieve the death of a loved one depends upon many factors.  A few of these factors include the type of relationship you had with your loved one – parents,siblings, spouse, or children; and the way in which your loved one died, in this case suddenly with tremendous violence.  As reality sets in the long, lonely dark journey through grief begins.  Another important factor will be the love and support they receive during their journey.

Let us unite to be a small light in their darkness, with a tribute of silence and continued prayers.

For more information about the “Lights for Sandy” project or about GriefShare, contact apotts2004@aol.com, or 410-643-540, Annette Potts, GriefShare Ministry at KIUMC.