Churches offer much needed hope to bereaved people in their community

'Loss and HOPE' - has captured the imagination of churches around the country who have been hard hit by lockdowns. The project - a coalition between AtaLoss.org, the Church of England Life Events Department, HOPE Together and Care for the Family - was launched a year ago and has been picking up pace ever since. 

Recognising that almost every community has a church or chapel or church community, with people motivated to help grieving people in their community, AtaLoss.org CEO, Yvonne Richmond Tulloch who initiated the project, could see that churches were well placed to provide the local bereavement support and care that so many people need. The other organisations now forming the coalition agreed. Yvonne says,

"Churches are local and that can make the difference between bereaved people getting the support they need or grieving alone without. This is an important project because it offers hope - to anyone of any faith or none - that needs support having lost someone. Hundreds of people have benefitted since we launched the project last March. And of course, this website - AtaLoss.org - continues to provide fantastic back up to the project with a comprehensive hub of information, resources and a wide range of additional services. These are all things that bereaved people and anyone supporting them need."

Born just as the country went into its first lock down, the Loss and HOPE project equips churches with everything they need to become 'Bereavement Friendly' - materials, training and support. Many churches are, as a result, now set up 'The Bereavement Journey' groups online to scores of people. Few could have imagined how important this would become, especially as churches have been closed for most of the last year. Reflecting on the terrible death toll, Archbishop Justin Welby also called for 'solidarity and support' in a BBC interview at the end of January - You can see his interview HERE 

As the country reached the awful milestone of 100k Covid deaths in January, the project is providing the church with a timely opportunity to help and seems set to grow and grow. 

To find out more please visit www.lossandhope.org