Finding Yourself...in the Midst of Divorce

To register:

complete the registration form found in the office

or click here

or email Divorcesupport@cwames.org

The purpose of this seven week series is to help those who are already divorced or anticipating divorce to pick up the pieces in a supportive community setting.

This spiritually based series will be looking at how we can recover from the trauma of divorce. 

Facilitated by pastors Linda Butler (Collegiate United Methodist Church and Wesley Foundation) and Deanna Pullen (First United Methodist Church), participants will learn face next part of their lives with hope rather than failure.  

When: Monday evenings

6:30p to 8:30p

February 15 to March 29, 2010 

Where: First United Methodist Church

516 Kellogg Ave.

Ames, Iowa

Fireside Parlor

Cost: $35, includes materials

Childcare available only with prior notice.

List of Session Topics

· Mourning the Former Life: to relate divorce to what commonly occurs in a mourning/grieving process

· The Continuing Conflict: to help see that conflict and anger in divorce are normal; to help determine helpful ways of coping with conflict.

· Children: - The Wounded Innocent: to help single parents care for their children while caring for their own needs; to heighten awareness of how to share pain with other family members, including children.

·  Opening Ourselves to Grace: to share the feelings of failure which often accompany divorce and to discover the forgiveness which God in God’s grace wants us to know.

· Fashioning a New Self: to see how marital conflict and divorce changes the way we perceive ourselves; find a more solid basis on which to build self-image.

· Building a Support System: to look at how divorce affects friendship patterns; talk about ways to develop and maintain a support system of friends even after this group ends.

· Looking to a New Life: see what we must do to put the past behind us and claim what God has for our future; reclaim confidence in our ability to make decisions and face challenges.

As the memory of your light fades

My days grow dark.

My nights are lit with electric bulbs.

I cannot sleep.

I am afraid of the dark.

I am afraid that you will return and then fade again.

I am afraid that you will never return.

I am afraid that my next thought will be of you.

I am afraid that I will run out of poems before I run out of pain.

I write only until I cry,

Which is why so few poems this month have been completed

It’s just that I am fresh out of

Poems

…..poetry from How to Survive the Loss of a Love by Melba Colgrove, Harold H. Bloomfield, Peter McWilliams