 |
|
 |
 |
 |
|
||||
| Local / State News | ||||
|
||||
| February 3, 2005 Edition | ||||
|
||||
            
 |
|
Bereavement group: For parents of lost babiesMADISON -- For parents whose babies have died, a part of them will always be missing. Especially around holidays or the baby's birthday, the pain of that baby's death - though dulled over time - will never leave them. That's why a bereavement group at St. Marys Hospital in Madison offers a safe place for parents to grieve. A lifelineThe group was "a lifeline" for Sue Tjugum, a member of St. Albert the Great Parish in Sun Prairie, who now runs the meetings. She and her husband, Steve, lost their firstborn son, Jacob, in August of 2000. Part of the placenta around the umbilical cord died two weeks before he was due. When Jacob was born, he had no heart beat and was not breathing. Internally he'd had massive organ failure and there was no brain activity. He died when he was 21 hours and 33 minutes old. The first question that parents ask when they go through this is: "Why?" said Tjugum. The reality is it doesn't matter why - and that makes you angry, she said. At first, after Jacob's death, the worst thing was being present at other babies' baptisms, she said. But although you may be angry at God at first, spiritually it eventually brings you closer, she said. "The raw pain goes away over time," said Tjugum. The first year is especially difficult and all holidays are tough because "most holidays are family-oriented and a piece is missing," she said. "You'll always be sad when they're not here. When it happens your world stops and the rest of the world goes on." But the bereavement group offers a place for people to help each other through similar pain. Help each otherPeople who attend the bereavement group meetings have either had miscarriages, stillborn babies, or babies who died right after birth or within the first year. Typically eight to 10 people participate in the group and sometimes there are as many as 25 who attend. "We talk about our experiences: where we're at and what we're going through," said Tjugum. "It's a safe place to cry. You can talk about it because you do not have to explain how you feel. Everyone understands that." To find out about those who might benefit from the group, Tjugum keeps in contact with people from St. Marys Hospital and Meriter Hospital in Madison and Mercy Hospital in Janesville and checks on obituaries in the paper. Remember babies"We encourage people to bring pictures (of their babies) to the meetings, or anything they want to share," said Tjugum, explaining that it's normal to hang onto anything that reminds you of the baby. "We encourage that and people have developed scrapbooks. Sharing that kind of stuff is important." The need to talk about their lost children is really strong, said Tjugum. The group also addresses how to deal with other siblings of the baby and ways to remember the baby. "It was important to keep Jake alive in our family," said Tjugum, who now has two other children. She also noted that there is an annual holiday service at the Bishop O'Connor Catholic Pastoral Center in Madison. Parents remember their babies with readings, songs, and saying their babies' names. The bereavement group meets at St. Marys Hospital, 707 S. Mills St. in Madison, at 7:30 p.m. on the third Thursday of every month. For more information, call Sue Tjugum at 608-837-3706.
Rural Life Gathering: Has new formatSINSINAWA -- Farmers will connect with consumers and producers to find support at the tri-state ecumenical Rural Life Gathering to be held at the Sinsinawa Mound on Thursday and Friday, Feb. 10 and 11. Theme is "People God's Been Waiting For: Faith Communities Taking Action of Food & Farming Issues." It will be held Thursday from 4:30 to 9:30 p.m. and Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 3:45 p.m. Developing markets, apprentice farmer training, and consumer education - through the church - will gear this event to action. Together, participants will seek answers to troubling questions about food and farming in America. "Everybody loves to eat. Yet anybody who reads, listens to the radio, thinks about the facts flowing out of the heartland regarding American food and farming can't help but feel troubled," said Tony Ends, who directs the Churches' Center for Land and People, which is sponsoring the Rural Life Gathering. "From modern farming's heavy reliance on fossil fuels and nonrenewable resources to terrorist and food security threats to our concentrated, specialized, mass produced food system - we all know a crisis awaits us," he said. Churches' Center for Land and People will host this program, which has a number of new features. It's the first time the 17-year-old, non-profit center will hold its gathering in the winter rather than the fall. Sessions are added on Thursday evening and the format will be streamlined. There will be fewer speakers and new models. Speakers include Shannon Jung, author of Food for Life, a theology of eating. He is a professor of rural ministry at Wartburg Theological Seminary in Dubuque, Iowa, and Tanya Marcovna Barnett, program director with Earth Ministry, based in Seattle, Wash., and publisher with Living the Good News Press of Food and Faith. Founded in 1992, Earth Ministry strives ecumenically to connect Christian faith with care for the Earth. The Rural Life Gathering is sponsored by a variety of church and rural life organizations, including the Diocese of Madison. Individuals, families, churches, and rural and urban organizations are welcome to attend. For more information, call 608-748-4411 or 608-897-4288; e-mail: cclp@mwci.net; or write P.O. Box 40, Sinsinawa, WI 53824.
|
| Front page Most recent issue Past issues |
Offices: Bishop O'Connor Catholic Pastoral Center, 702 S. High Point Road, Madison
Mailing address: P.O. Box 44985, Madison, WI 53744-4985
Phone: 608-821-3070 Fax: 608-821-3071 E-Mail: info@madisoncatholicherald.org