EVENTS
NOTICE OF THE ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING OF THE LMGRS
Date and Time: Monday June 13th, 2022 from 6:00-7:30pm / Virtual Event
Our Special Guest will be:
ELDER JEAN WASEGIJIG who will speak about: ‘Indigenous Ways of Grieving’
“My family and I grieved together during our losses, through ceremony.”
Elder Jean is Anishinaabe, Odawa First Nation, from the Wikwemikoong Reserve in northern Ontario. Elder Jean is of the Bear Clan and her traditional name is “Good Medicine Woman” a name that was given to her at a Sundance Ceremony in Montana. Elder Jean participates in ceremonies and cultural traditions. She is a mother and grandmother. Elder Jean graduated with an Associate of Applied Arts degree at Douglas College and majored in Psychology at Simon Fraser University, before pursuing Substance Abuse Counselling training at the University of the Fraser Valley.
Elder Jean worked with Aboriginal female offenders in Saskatchewan for four years and Aboriginal male offenders in BC for twenty years, as a program facilitator and counsellor, and worked closely with Elders. From her Odawa grandmother and the Elders generosity, she obtained priceless traditional teachings and utilized them as she delivered cultural interventions that responded to the specific needs of Aboriginal offenders. She worked for Correctional Service of Canada (CSC) and also served on its national committees. Her contributions were recognized and celebrated in 2006 with an Employee of the Year – Woman of Excellence Award. After her retirement from CSC in 2014, Elder Jean worked at Tsow-Tun Le Lum Treatment Centre on Vancouver Island as a Drug & Alcohol Counsellor, Trauma and Grief Counsellor, and Resident Elder.
Elder Jean is involved with Elder services for Spirit of the Children, working with families preparing for family court. In addition, she works with the Salvation Army Harbour Light as an Addictions Counsellor with offenders on parole. She teaches the Indigenous Perspective course at Vancouver Community College, and is also one of the Resident Elders. In the community she facilitates cultural workshops, medicine wheel teachings and Indigenous history. As well Elder Jean is a writer, published poet and artist, with her work exhibited in the Fraser Valley.
If you are interested in attending, please email us with your name and email address before June 03, 2022.
Blue Christmas Service
Offered at certain churches for those who have experienced a loss, to “help hurting people cope with the holidays”. Check local churches in your area
Honour a Life
“Honour a Life is a night we come together as a community to honour our loved ones and remember those who have passed. Christmas can be a very difficult time for those who have suffered loss, and we hope that this event can offer both peace and fellowship through this difficult time.” www.kearneyfs.com In Vancouver (at VanDusen) and New Westminster. Offered by Kearney’s Funeral Home
Bereavement Day – 3rd Sunday in May
“An opportunity for those caregivers who care for the dying and the bereaved to offer a service of remembrance or special gathering to honour and recognize bereavement as a part of life, not to be forgotten and ignored. It is a chance for grieving individuals to publicly, yet privately, acknowledge their grief with others who are grieving so that they do not feel alone or different.” BC Bereavement Helpline (BCBH) http://www.bcbh.ca
FOR AN EXTENSIVE LIST OF EVENTS IN METRO VANCOUVER IN THE AREA OF LOSS AND DEATH, PLEASE VISIT THE BC BEREAVEMENT HELPLINE
http://www.bcbereavementhelpline.com/events/
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