New Clergy Continuing Education Workshop!
Joy Comes in the Mourning: Living with Grief as Orthodox Christians
Friday, February 21, 2025
10am – 12 noon EST, 2pm – 4pm EST
Clergy and lay parish leaders are welcome to attend by Zoom, or in person at St. Nersess Seminary
St. Nersess Seminary will be hosting a day-long workshop entitled Joy Comes in the Mourning: Living with Grief as Orthodox Christians on Friday, February 21, 2025. The workshop will be led by Sarah Byrne-Martelli, an Orthodox palliative care chaplain. St. Nersess Seminary Spiritual Director, Dn. Yervant Kutchukian, will facilitate.
Workshop sessions will take place from 10am to 12pm EST, and from 2pm to 4pm EST. The afternoon session will be recorded.
To register for Zoom, click here. If attending in person, please register by email info@stnersess.edu or call 914-273-0200.
*Complimentary copies of the book “Memory Eternal: Living with Grief as Orthodox Christians,” written by Sarah Byrne-Martelli, will be shared with participants.*
Workshop Description
Grieving is a universal experience on both the personal and community level. As Orthodox Christians, we have a rich inheritance of prayers, practices, and beliefs that teach us how to live with the joys and sorrows of everyday life. When we explore grief and suffering within the community of the Church, we learn to grieve in a way that honors the reality of loss, while granting us the hope and peace found in Christ.
In the morning session, participants will be led by chaplain Byrne-Martelli to reflect on the personal experience of grief and loss. In the afternoon session, she will address practical ways to care for others in grief, including how to create a parish-based grief support group.
When we love and care for each other, we encounter Christ; and we find joy in the midst of our mourning.
Our Seminar Leader:
Sarah Byrne-Martelli, DMin, MDiv, BCC-PCHAC, is a Palliative Care Chaplain and Bereavement Counselor, endorsed by the Antiochian Archdiocese. She received a Doctor of Ministry from St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary and a Master of Divinity from Harvard Divinity School. She is a sessional Assistant Professor of Spiritual Care at St. Vladimir’s Seminary and is on Faculty at the Harvard Medical School Center for Palliative Care. Her recent book, “Memory Eternal: Living with Grief as Orthodox Christians” provides a helpful framework to navigate loss with faith and love.
