Fall 2025 Grief Retreat and Ritual

Re-membering Grief, Reclaiming the Heart

Led by Sheila Kappeler-Finn, Marcy Koch & Tammie Brenton

Friday, October 31 – Sunday, November 2, 2025

Slowing down to feel, so we can rise rooted in compassion

In the words of Francis Weller; we will gather to create our “communal cup” of sorrow. Together we will form a safe and welcome container to support all sources of loss and grief. We will engage in being part of a community council where we practice deep listening and receive witness. We will engage in writing practices, inquiry and small group sharing of our stories. Facilitators will share guided meditation and embodiment practices to bear witness to your inner states and gain discernment about your own information. Our time together will culminate in a simple but powerful communal, grief ritual where we will witness and support one another as we move into our shared experience and expression of individual and collective grief. This is an invitation to participate in retreat practices, shared meals and communal activities.

This retreat is open to anyone navigating any form of grief, not just those who have lost loved ones. Nothing is required beyond being present with and sharing the grief you carry, to the best of your ability. Our intention is to create a container to support all sources of loss and grief. We will establish foundational group agreements to form a stable base of kindness and group safety. This 3-day retreat is not a passive teaching program but a participatory, communal space where we ask people to show up for each other and for the soul of the community. Please apply to the retreat with an orientation toward inclusivity and participation in your heart.

About the Facilitators:

Sheila Kappeler-Finn brings a synthesis of experiences to community space holding: a 25-year meditation practice, 20 years of Non-Violent Communication (NVC) study and practice, NVC complex facilitation, NVC multi-year mediation intensive study, a decade-long apprenticeship (with a focus on ethical and respectful cultural practice) in medicine work, and grief tending and apprenticeship in the lineage of Francis Weller, author of The Wild Edge of Sorrow. Sheila has the capacity to meet people in their depths, welcoming heartfelt and authentic participation.

Tammie Brenton’s personal journey through profound loss has deepened her understanding of grief’s transformative power and sacred wisdom. Rather than avoiding or banishing grief, she has found that turning toward it with intention creates space for healing and growth. This practice reveals that it is possible to cultivate the capacity to hold life’s full complexity—both its profound sorrows and enduring joys. As a grief retreat facilitator, Tammie is honored to create sacred space where others can explore their own relationship with loss. She believes that grief, when met with compassion and community, has the power to transform our understanding of what it means to be fully human.

Marcy Koch is an informed elder with over 25 years of immersion in depth work practices, facilitation, and training. Her experience spans mind-body modalities, archetypal psychology, Solastalgia, nature-based soul initiation, Francis Weller’s Entering the Healing Ground, The Work That Reconnects, poetic and creative arts traditions, recovery, shadow work, and ancestral healing. Her calling is to create refuge and healing community—spaces where people can slow down, cross thresholds with care, speak and listen authentically, and honor grief in all its mystery as an integral part of wholeness. Her approach to grief tending is rooted in compassion, curiosity, and deep presence. She brings a keen ear for what is spoken and unspoken, a steady heart, and the capacity to hold connection and support through ritual and somatic practice.

Cost:  Pay What You Can pricing ranges from $895 (top) – $695 (middle) – $495 (low).

Scholarships are available. See our website for more information: https://www.sacredgriefwork.com/

Registration: We request an application for all interested participants so we can get to know you and ensure that this ritual is a good fit. Your application responses, along with other applicants in your cohort, help paint a picture of the emotional landscape of the group, which will assist us to better meet everyone’s individual and collective needs during our time together.

After reviewing your application, we will send an email invitation with a payment request, based on the pricing level you select in the application. You are officially registered for the retreat once we receive your payment. Please Note: Submitting an application for this retreat does not guarantee registration. We recommend you wait to receive the invitation and complete your retreat payment before organizing and paying for travel to the retreat venue.

Click here for confidential application. Estimated time to complete application: 20-30 minutes.

For more information: https://www.sacredgriefwork.com/