Bereavement Ministry

The Good Samaritan House at St. Mary’s (also referred to as the Office of Parish Social Ministry) will offer two weekly support groups for the bereaved and those struggling with unresolved loss starting the second week of September 2023. Both sessions will run for ten consecutive weeks. The primary goals of the groups are to help the participants learn about the grief process, develop skills to manage their grief, and help them adjust to living in a world without the deceased. The groups are open to anyone who has lost a spouse, partner, parent, or sibling – including non-parishioners and people of other faiths.  One group will be offered on Saturdays from 9:30 to 11:00 AM and a second group will meet Thursdays from 1:30 PM to 3:00 PM. The sessions begin September 9 and 14 respectively.

Tara Baranello and Bernadette Casalino will facilitate Thursday’s session. Marie Granieri, Dr. Robert Windorf, and Jordan Rini will facilitate Saturday’s session. All facilitators received training from Dr. Lou Sabatini, a bereavement counselor with over thirty years of experience. In addition to their training, Tara has an MS in counseling and an Advanced Certificate in Mental Health, and Marie Granieri has a Master’s Degree in Sacred Theology. Dr. Robert Windorf is a long-time educator and has worked with the Passionists to facilitate retreats for young adults.

In an effort to meet the needs of all those suffering from grief due to loss, we are offering two different types of bereavement counseling. The Saturday session will be rich with Catholic faith-based tools, using Scripture and prayer to help in the healing process. Marie Granieri will draw from her in-depth knowledge of the suffering of Christ and the ability to find peace and grace through lamentation to help those in need. The Thursday sessions will be more secular, although they may refer to some Bible verses or faith filled poems during the sessions.

There is a one-time registration fee of $10.00 to cover the costs of the course. To register for a group, please make a check payable to St. Mary’s PSM and mail it to the Church of St. Mary, Office of Parish Social Ministry, 1300 Northern Blvd., Manhasset, NY 11030. Please click the button below to complete the Registration Form by September 7, 2023 (or until spaces are filled). For more information on the sessions, please call our Director of PSM, Kathleen Kosciusko, at 917-864-2802 (cell) or 516-365-2705 (office). You can also send an email to kkosciusko@stmary.ws.

Registration Form