Sunday, January 17, 2016

More Info on In Loving Memory Conference

For those with no surviving children, the best thing you can do for yourself is to attend the “In Loving Memory” conference April 7-10, 2016, in Fairfax, Virginia at the Hyatt Fair Lakes in Fairfax.

All workshops, sharing sessions, activities and keynote speakers will address the unique needs of now childless parents. Professionals and friends are welcome to attend and learn how to assist this unique group of bereaved parents. Remember, there are no chapters in each city or state as there are for Compassionate Friends. This conference is associated with Alive Alone, the national organization for childless parents, with a gathering held every few years for these parents. For the three days of this conference, this is a great opportunity for those who fit into this category to get as much information as possible from workshops, sharing sessions and speakers to help you move on with your life. And you will learn more about Alive Alone and how it assists in resolving grief and how to reinvest your life for a positive future through the newsletter, published five times a year.

Registration is $75 until Feb. 27. After that date it is $90. The hotel rate is $89 per night until March 24. Make a reservation by calling 1-800-421-1442. You can register for the conference online or send a request to the email below. There is other valuable information on the registration form.

There will be two keynote speakers; Gam and Becky Greer and John and Rose Stanley. The Greers, from London, KY,  lost four children: Stephen in 1979, John Michael, Todd and Kami in 1995. “Now my job is to try to find my way in a world where my children are not and my grandchildren will never be. It is my desire to honor God and my children and to help other bereaved parents by “showing hope,” said Gam.

The Stanleys became very active in Compassionate Friends on the local and national level after the death of their only child, 16-year-old Susan. They have presented workshops at TCF conferences as well as In Loving Memory Conferences. John has held the positions of pastor, chaplain and Minister-Visitation of the First Presbyterian Church in North Carolina.

Some of the workshop titles include: Creating New Rituals for Special Days, How Counseling Could Help, What Gives Me Purpose Now, Grief and Addiction, Handling My Child's Belongings,Intimacy and Grief, Legal Issues, Loss and Humor, Grief in the Workplace, Struggling to Reclaim My Faith, Suicide, Exercising and Eating Right, Death of a Troubled Child, and more. Informal sharing sessions and other activities will also be held.

I would encourage anyone who is now childless to go to this conference. I did two national conferences for childless parents in 2004 and 2007 in Scottsdale, AZ, and believe there is no better place for you to find what you need to begin or continue the healing process.

For more information on the conference, go to www.inlovingmemoryconference.org or email: inlovingmemory1@verizon.net . To learn more about the Alive Alone organization, go to www.alivealone.org.

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