These retreats are an opportunity to support each other to feel and express our emotions deeply held in the basket of a supportive community. There are so few places where our grief is welcome, honored, given space. For deep healing, our grief needs to be witnessed and expressed. This creates an alchemical process of transformation so that grief changes from a burden to bear to compassionate, open hearted connection with others.
The spiritual framework for these retreats includes time-honored and earth-based modalities such as invoking the protection and support of the 7 Directions, utilizing the power of drumming and chanting, the belief that the natural world is a rich source of support and connection, the importance of prayer and working with the unseen realms including our ancestors.
Grief Retreat Summer 2026 Facilitated by Thérèse Charvet & Laurence Cole supported by Tere Carranza and Jordan Lyon and others from our grief tender mentoring program
This retreat welcomes grief from any source, from the most personal (losing a beloved spouse, family member, friend or pet) to grief about wars, violence, the state of our nation/world, and everything in between.
Timeframe: Saturday morning July 11, 10am thru Sunday July 12, 5pm
Venue: The meadow at Sacred Groves., accessible by footpaths.
Overnight accommodations: Sacred Groves has limited accommodations on site. For those who want an indoor bed, we recommend you stay with a friend who lives locally, reserve an Airbnb or a room at a local motel/hotel on Bainbridge Island or Poulsbo. Those who live nearby can go home.
Cost: $450 includes lunch and dinner Saturday, breakfast, lunch and a closing dessert treat Sunday. A limited number of discounts (up to half-price) and/or paying with installments available upon request.
To Register: Registration will open in early April. To be notified when registration is open, please submit this form.
Refund Policy:
- If you cancel more than 2 weeks from the event start date, you will receive a full refund minus $50 handling fee.
- If you cancel less than 2 weeks before the event, we will refund half of your fee UNLESS we can fill your spot with someone on the wait list. If we are able to fill your spot, we will refund $300.
- If you cancel less than 1 week before the event, we will keep your full payment UNLESS we can fill your spot with someone on the wait list. If we are able to fill your spot, we will refund $300.
For other options for Grief Support, check out this webpage.
Facilitators: Our “Grief Tending Team” includes several of us who have been involved in grief rituals here at Sacred Groves and elsewhere in the Pacific Northwest for many years. Thérèse Charvet is the founder of Sacred Groves and began leading grief rituals in 2002 after attending several rituals with her mentor Sobonfu Some. Laurence Cole joined the team in 2008. Currently our team also includes some who have been part of our Grief Tender Mentoring program.
Honoring our Teachers
Thérèse wants to acknowledge and express her deep gratitude to Sobonfu Some who was her most significant teacher as regards grief ritual. Thérèse was blessed to drum with and participate in a number of rituals with her between 1993 and 2013. Although Sobonfu no longer walks on this earth, her work and her teachings from the Dagara tribe in Burkina Faso live on in the grief rituals held at Sacred Groves (and elsewhere.) The development of this grief work has also been inspired by the ‘Despair and Empowerment’ work of Joanna Macy, strengthened and supported by the writings of Frances Weller (who also learned about grief ritual from the Some’s) and from our own personal journeys with grief.