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| WELCOME...to
those of you who are receiving this newsletter for the first time
and to our regular members. We are a self-help organization offering
nonjudgmental friendship and understanding to bereaved parents, grandparents,
and siblings. Bereaved Parents' purpose is to aid these persons in
the positive resolution of their grief and to foster their physical
and emotional health. Our chapter meets in a donated church facility,
but no religious creed or affiliation is involved. Persons of all
faiths (or no faith), creeds, and races are welcome! We have no dues,
and no one is required to speak at any meeting. Listening is OK. If
you need us, we're here for you. If you do not need help yourself,
please bring your compassionate understanding to those who need the
support of other bereaved parents, siblings, or grandparents. |
NEXT
MEETINGS |
14 DECEMBER
19 JANUARY
|
The Bereaved Parents of
North Texas meets regularly on the third Monday of each month at 7:15
pm in the Flynn Hall Lounge of the First United Methodist Church,
201 S. Locust Street, Denton, Texas. (For directions, please see
the
map on the back page.)
NOTE: Our meeting in December
will be on Sunday, December 14, 2003 @ 6:30pm
Baby-sitting available, SEE
BELOW: |
BABY-SITTING
AT BPNT MEETINGS? |
Parents who need babysitting
at our monthly meetings should contact Deana Ferguson by the end
of the 2nd Monday of each month for our 3rd Monday meetings so sitter
arrangements can be made. Contact her at:
940-382-5478
or email auralie@evl.net |
CHAPTER OFFICERS
Moderator . . . Shannon Ratliff-Johnson
& Virginia Gallian
Secretary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Shirley
Ottman
Membership . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Tom Richardson
Treasurer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. .Bob Ottman
Newsletter Editor . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Beth Reynolds
Greeters. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Virgie
Richardson
Supplies. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . .Louise Ferry |
COMING UP IN DECEMBER…
our annual Candle Light Memorial
Service which coincides with the Worldwide Candle Lighting in
Memory of All Children, on
Sunday, December 14, 2003 @ 6:30pm
On the second Sunday in December, all over the world, in every
time zone, everyone is invited to light a candle in honor of all
the children who have died, that their light may always shine.
As candles go out in one time zone, they are lit in the next,
creating a wave of light that encircles the globe. This event
occurs every year on the second Sunday in December.
Bring a picture of your
child to share with the group during our sharing session.
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| LOVING LISTENERS... |
Your telephone links you
to a loving listener. Do you need to talk about your child's life
and death with someone who truly understands your anguish? Those
listed below have volunteered to listen and to try to help you.
By allowing others to help you, you also are helping others. If
no one answers at one number, please call another. Give us a call.
It helps to talk!
Shirley &
RD Cawyer - 940-668-7717 -
auto/train accident
Beth Reynolds
- 940-321-3302
- auto accident
Dale &
Shannon Johnson - 940-591-8539
-
stillbirth
|
Our Credo
We are the parents whose
children have died. We are the grandparents who have buried grandchildren.
We are the siblings whose brothers and sisters no longer walk
with us through life. We come together as Bereaved Parents of
the USA to provide a haven where all bereaved families can meet
and share our long and arduous grief journeys. We attend monthly
gatherings whenever we can and for as long as we believe necessary.
We share our fears, confusion, anger, guilt, frustrations, emptiness
and feelings of hopelessness so that hope can be found anew. As
we accept, support, comfort and encourage each other, we demonstrate
to each other that survival is possible. Together we celebrate
the lives of our children, share the joys and triumphs as well
as the love that will never fade. Together we learn how little
it matters where we live, what our color or our affluence is or
what faith we uphold as we confront the tragedies of our children's
deaths. Together, strengthened by the bonds we forge at our gatherings,
we offer what we have learned to each other and to every more
recently bereaved family. We are the Bereaved Parents of the USA.
We welcome
you. |
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