Bereavement service

The Rev Joe Kavanagh from Mearns Kirk parish church, has hosted the evening once a month for the past year after seeing the devastation caused by losing a loved one.

And now, due to the success of the service, Rev Kavanagh is aiming to host it fortnightly in the church hall.

He told The Extra: "We set up the hall cafe-style so it is very relaxed. We do not offer a counselling service, we offer friendship, support and love.

"I've lost my parents and brother so know how difficult it is to cope with losing someone close to you.

"It is probably the most difficult thing a person will go through in their lifetime which is why I wanted to set it up.

"It has just grown over the last year so I'm looking to set the night to every fortnight instead of just the first Tuesday of every month".

Mr Kavanagh, who has been the minister at Mearns Kirk for over 11 years, and a group of ten volunteers from the church run the group.

And he stresses the service is available to anyone — irrespective of age, religious belief or background.

He told The Extra: "This is not a means to pull people into the church and force my ideas onto them.

"It is for those needing a listening ear, someone to talk to in confidence.

"No two people grieve in the same way so some attend for as little as one month to as long as a year.

"Two ladies who had been using the service came to speak to me and told me they would not be coming back after Christmas.

"I was happy to hear that as the group had obviously helped them and they were ready to move on to the next part of their journey".

Mearns Kirk bereavement friendship group currently meets at 7pm in the church hall on the first Tuesday of every month.

For more information call 639 6555.