Research

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Discussion

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Today, families and couples in churches face many issues affecting how they live with themselves, their community, and even their relationship with God. For instance, many Christian families are going through grief and loss while still in our churches. Grief can be an overwhelming emotion, and every person goes through it at some point during their life. Although death is one of God’s plans, many people, including Christians, find it hard to grapple with emotions associated with losing a loved one, leading to grief. However, it is good to note that death is not the only cause of grief, but other types of losses can also invoke grief, such as loss of a job, loss of a relationship, and even declining health. According to Kochen et al., 2020), grief is a natural response to a loss, not a lack of faith in God or an expression of weakness. People with grief need support from friends, pastors, families, and the general society.

I chose the topic because grief and loss are prevalent issues, not only in churches but also in society and when not well addressed can lead to detrimental outcomes for the affected person. Grieving couples and families are not able to fully participate in church activities or socialize well with others, which affects their social and religious life. Sometimes grief and loss can be seen as normal, but its impact is worth attention and research to understand its sources, extent in churches, effects, and solutions to guarantee high quality of life. Stories and testimonies from fellow church members about their experience with grief and loss are the sources of my interest in the topic.

Some years back, I lost a job I was very passionate about,it was the only source of income at the time. It was so hard for me to figure it out. This happened just a year after losing a relative. Grief is not an easy thing, especially at a young age, when all energy should be on making a brighter future. During this time, I experienced symptoms of sadness, anger, guilt, and even physical pains, which are all symptoms of grief (Eersel et al., 2020).

I believe almost all of the church members are going through grief and loss, especially during this post-pandemic period when many people have lost their loved ones, to include family and friends, due to Covid-19. Additionally, manyhave lost their jobs and the things they loved; relationships were hard to sustain because of the Covid-19 measures, all of which affected people’s lives in one way or another, leading to the experience of grief and loss (Wallace et al., 2020). During such meetings and services, people confess hardships that they have been going through to be prayed for, and with this, I strongly believe many believers, families, and couples are greatly experiencing grief and loss.

Through researching the topic, I would like to understand what factors have lead to increased risk of grief among church members and establish the extent of this problem in the church. I also intend to investigate broad symptoms and effects of grief and loss to social life and Christian’s relationship with God. This would be a great finding because churches are places people go to pray and improve their relationship with God; therefore, investigating how grief can harm this relationship is relevant. Finally, I would be seeking to find solutions and interventions to manage grief and loss among Christian families and couples.

References

Eersel, J. H., Taris, T. W., & Boelen, P. A. (2020). Reciprocal relations between symptoms of complicated grief, depression, and anxiety following job loss: A cross‐lagged analysis.  Clinical Psychologist,  24(3), 276-284.

Kochen, E. M., Jenken, F., Boelen, P. A., Deben, L., Fahner, J. C., van den Hoogen, A., ... & Kars, M. C. (2020). When a child dies: a systematic review of well-defined parent-focused bereavement interventions and their alignment with grief-and loss theories.  BMC palliative care,  19(1), 1-22.

Wallace, C. L., Wladkowski, S. P., Gibson, A., & White, P. (2020). Grief during the COVID-19 pandemic: considerations for palliative care providers.  Journal of pain and symptom management,  60(1), e70-e76.