PRUMC members Mace Hall and Bruce and Janet Street have an in-depth and personal conversation about trauma. The Streets lost their son Cam to bone cancer at age 15. They share about the importance of adjusting normalcy, giving grace, and the power of community during a traumatic time.

Pema draws from traditional Buddhist wisdom to offer a way to rethink our lives and lean into discomfort and struggles in order to live a more peaceful life. Life is not a destination or fitting together a beautiful puzzle for success. Life comes together and falls apart and repeats itself. The healing comes from letting there be room for all of this to happen. Room for grief, for relief, for misery, for joy.

Many of us believe that if we "seize the day, live in the present, and work on a bucket list" that we will have the life that society says we are owed. But for any of us who have experienced terrible loss or sickness, we realize that "so frequently the events that define us are the ones we didn't choose."

Our son Eric died many years ago, just a month before Thanksgiving.  Our older son was still healing from the same accident as the holiday arrived, so there was no possibility of travel to be with extended family.  We would be at home together.  It was a quiet morning on Thanksgiving Day as the meal was prepared.  Then early that afternoon we sat down to eat – just the three of us, at a table for four.  There was his chair.  Eric’s chair.  His place was as empty as our hearts were filled, with grief.

This is a very personal narrative of one who dealt with the tragic loss of a precious loved one.  While it was written forty years ago, it has been revised and still has very relevant truths and resources for those dealing with the sudden loss of a loved one regardless of where it is suicide or another cause.  She provides an accurate description of the journey, the feelings that come with it, and strategies of how to deal with the grief.  I recommend this book to anyone dealing with the tragic loss of a loved one.

As people of faith, death asks us to come together and celebrate life. It asks us to remember the good of the deceased. As people of faith, it requires worship of us. Death asks us, very quietly, to love one another in hope and trust and faith - today. Death heals and comforts and amazingly, oftentimes, does it better than life.

A suicide attempt left 16-year-old varsity cheerleader, Emma Benoit, paralyzed, but propelled her on a mission to use her painful experience to help others find hope, and shine more light on the fact that 20 young people die every day by suicide in the United States. My Ascension is a feature length documentary that chronicles Emma's inspiring journey and quest to walk again, as she works to bring Hope Squad, a school-based suicide prevention program, to Louisiana. The film also highlights the stories of two remarkable young people who tragically did not survive their attempts, and we learn first-hand from their families, friends, school officials and suicide prevention experts about the devastating effects of suicide and what can be done to prevent it.