The purpose of our retreat is to provide grieving parents with the safe and supportive environment to process their loss through the study of biblical lament. Our hope is that it will foster deepened faith and trust in God’s character and promises amidst the sorrow of losing a child. We also hope that meaningful and encouraging connections and friendships will formulate among parents who share similar experiences of grief.

“Grief is not tame – it is vicious. The bible can give a voice to our pain – lament. Lamenting is an uninvited dimension of the Christian life and helps to navigate the wilderness of grief. Lament gives a person permission to vocalize and wrestle with the sorrow instead of rushing to the end and not processing grief. Lamenting is how a person lives between the poles of hard circumstance and trusting in the sovereignty of God. It brings hope to grieving people. Too many Christians think that tough or painful questions, doubt, and prolonged sadness characterize subpar believers. Lament embraces the honest struggle, not as sinful discontentment but a biblical complaint. Lamenting, a prayerful complaint to the Lord, is not a symptom of unbelief but rather prayers in pain which take a lot of faith! Lament does not solve everything, but as a person discovers the prayer language of lamenting, they will be able to experience a rich but untapped reservoir of God’s grace. Lament reminds our hearts what we believe to be true ultimately leading to a deeper trust and hope in God’s character, promises and faithfulness.” 

We offer a three-day retreat program geared toward grieving parents. This is a weekend for bereaved parents to spend relaxed, unhurried time with other parents who understand the experience of losing a child. As we go through the weekend, we will open the Word of God together to study the powerful, prayerful worship of lamenting and how it encompasses both joy and sorrow. Lament is a form of authentic prayer that essentially helps us define that our hope through our sorrow can only be anchored in Jesus Christ. Our goal with Lamenting Faith Retreats is to encourage parents to process their grief through lamenting, ultimately leading to a deeper trust and hope in God’s faithfulness. Lamenting can be an act of worship as our pain is turned toward God. We will learn from each other, pray for one another, encourage each other, talk about our kids in Heaven, and find out that we are not alone on this journey.

_{“Dark Clouds Deep Mercy” by Mark Vroegop and published by Crossway was quoted on this website.}