ENCOURAGING THOSE IN THE LOSS OF A LOVED ONE

• Pray with them
  
• Pray for them

• People need permission and safety to grieve – Be the one who stands beside them and gives them a safe place to grieve their loss (Read the book: Safe People by Townsend & Cloud)
• Let them know they are not alone
• Just sit with them in silence
• Be an active listener if they want to talk
• Offer to be at the home to greet visitors who drop by
• Offer to field phone calls and keep messages for the family
• Offer to make phone calls to friends
• Offer to help them make a list of things to be done and facilitate them being accomplished
• Offer to help them develop a list of decisions to be made
• Offer to help make some of these decisions
• Offer to go with them to the funeral home to make arrangements
• Offer to locate music the family has selected for service and make copies if necessary 
• Offer to coordinate food for the family before and after the funeral
• Offer to be at the home to handle food dropped off and keep it organized and refrigerated
• Offer to either stay at the home during the funeral service or find someone who is willing
• Offer to help get floral arrangements and plants from the funeral home to the house and distributed to family members
• Offer to help with thank you notes (buy stamps, place stamps on envelopes, address envelopes, etc.)
• Remind them to take care of themselves by eating well and getting plenty of rest

If you have ideas that are not listed on this page, please email us your ideas here