A Time to Grieve, a Space to Heal

In 2024, a group of United Church ministers serving in northern communities gathered for a retreat made possible by your support through Mission and Service.

These ministers carry an extraordinary burden. The number of deaths in their communities, many of them young people, has been devastating. The unrelenting cycle of grief, funeral after funeral, has left deep emotional and spiritual wounds. “When I started in the United Church, we buried a lot of elderly people,” says Rev. Grant Queskekapow, who was ordained in 1987. “But now we bury a lot of youth who die as a result of suicide.”

Last year, Rev. Queskekapow was one of twenty-three Northern ministers and their partners who took part in a healing and rejuvenating retreat at Sandy-Saulteaux Spiritual Centre in Manitoba.

For many, including Rev. Queskekapow, it was the first time they had gathered in this way with fellow ministers. The retreat offered a needed opportunity to pause, to grieve, and to find healing.

Ministers received critical support including rest, trauma-informed training, and spiritual care through sharing circles, art therapy, and cultural practices like beading. It gave participants space to process what they had been holding, sometimes in silence, for far too long.

The impact was clear. Ministers returned to their communities with renewed strength. Participants shared their appreciation for a space where they felt truly supported in the face of burnout.

Because of this profound response, a second retreat is being planned for September 2025.

The need has not lessened. If anything, it has deepened. Your continued support through Mission and Service will ensure that those who carry the grief of entire communities do not carry it alone.

Our ministers are doing sacred work in places where loss is deep and ongoing. They need time to rest. They need space to grieve. And they need to know they are not alone.

Your compassion through Mission and Service makes that possible. Thank you.