Silent Nights:

Grief, Stress, and Coping During the Holidays

Thursday, December 12 | 6:00 - 8:00 pm

Are you looking forward to the holidays?

Do you feel anxiety or sadness as the season approaches?

Is it difficult to share these feelings?

The holiday season can discourage the expression of sadness, grief, and feelings of separation. Yet for many, the pain of an empty chair at the dinner table, or a sudden diagnosis, can be particularly hard to bear during this nostalgic and sensitive time. Join us for an evening of sharing and support as we explore, from spiritual, clinical, and personal perspectives, the nature of grief during the holidays and how it can be managed.

Price: $20.00 includes a catered dinner

Speakers

Marsha Coco

Ten years ago, Marsha and Greg Coco built their retirement home. Marsha planned to retire in 2019 from her job as manager of HR at Houston Methodist, but in 2014, Greg was diagnosed with progressive supra nuclear palsy (PSP), a rare form of dementia. The next four years were challenging. Marsha continued juggling her full-time job with managing Greg’s care, first at home and then in a memory care home, while she watched her soul mate slowly slip away. Greg earned his angel wings on October 18, 2018, and Marsha is having a memory quilt made of things he enjoyed and memories they shared.

Virgil Fry

Dr. Virgil Fry is Executive Director for Lifeline Chaplaincy, a non-profit organization in Houston, Dallas, Ft. Worth, and Central Texas. He serves as adjunct professor for Pepperdine and Abilene Christian Universities, teaching graduate level courses on Ministry in Times of Crisis. He is a published author of two books, and speaks nationwide on the spiritual components of serious illness and grief. 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.