Afternoon tea was held in Woodhouse Cemetery to bring the Sheffield community together to remember their loved ones.
Around 30 people gathered at the cemetery to have conversations about grief whilst building friendships, doing craft activities and enjoying tea and cake.
Debora Marschner, 54, a Methodist Church Minister from Woodhouse said: “For me it’s really important to enable those conversations about grief because I see how it changes people when they can talk about it, it really is an unburdening.”
The tea was hosted by Ms Marschner from The Methodist Church in Handsworth, Jan Browse from the Woodhouse and District Community Forum and Joanne Keeton from Keeton’s Funeral Directors on Saturday from 12 noon to 2PM.
Ms Marschner said: “People entrust me with their stories and share life with me in a way that we kind of journey with one another and learn from one another.”
She has been a minister for 20 years, and has contributed to the community by providing bereavement support for people that have lost loved ones.
“Making themselves vulnerable in the session and trusting others with their particular grief story creates a bond between those who come,” she said.
She has supported individual families in preparation for funerals, baptisms and weddings and works across the community to facilitate conversation and provide support.
She said: “For me it’s just a huge privilege to see that change in people and to get the sense that I hold a space for them.”
With the recent World Mental Health Day, organisations across Sheffield have encouraged conversation about bereavement.
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Organisations like Compassionate Sheffield work with people in the city to create a positive impact and help navigate loss.
Upcoming events from Compassionate Sheffield include the “Connecting Through Loss” events from October to November which are supportive spaces to explore loss and ways to stay connected.
To find out more, visit Handsworth Methodist Church