The Compassionate Friends

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We Need Not Walk Alone

We are The Compassionate Friends. We reach out to each other with love, with understanding and with hope. Our children have died at all ages and from many different causes, but our love for our children unites us.

Your pain becomes my pain just as your hope becomes my hope. We come together from all walks of life, from many different circumstances. We are a unique family because we represent many races and creeds. We are young, and we are old. Some of us are far along in our grief, but others still feel a grief so fresh and intensely painful that we feel helpless and see no hope. Some of us have found our faith to be a source of strength; some of us are struggling to find answers. Some of us are angry, filled with guilt or in deep depression; others radiate an inner peace. But whatever pain we bring to this gathering of The Compassionate Friends, it is pain we will share just as we share with each other our love for our children.

We are all seeking and struggling to build a future for ourselves, but we are committed to building that future together and reach out to each other in love and share the pain as well as the joy, share the anger as well as the peace, share the faith as well as the doubts and help each other to grieve as well as to grow.

We need not walk alone.

We are The Compassionate Friends.

Counselling Courses Are you interested in doing a Counselling Course with a view to becoming a Facilitator? If so, please contact the office.

The Compassionate Friends requires additional members to serve on the Executive Committee.

LIBRARY - Return of outstanding books

Our library, as an outreach programme, can only be helpful to our members if everyone follows our guideline of two months borrowing time. Thereafter the books can be renewed for a further month. If these books have helped you in your journey, then you are aware they could help another bereaved parent. If you are unable to attend the monthly meeting or drop them off at TCF, please contact the office so that alternative arrangements can be made.

Thank you for your attention to this urgent request.

DECEMBER 2011 / JANUARY 2012 Butterflies

My Dear Friends

Mourning brings many losses in the wake of the biggest loss – loss of confidence and self-esteem, of hope and liveliness, of security and certainties, of love and libido – the list seems endless. Into these vacuums the thoughts come crowding. Looking back I recall real dizziness both physical and emotional as I pondered and speculated, mused and doubted. While my heart was broken and my spirit wounded, my brain felt like bursting with all that activity.

Some of our children chose to end their unhappy lives leaving us despairing that we might have prevented tragedy if we’d been more alert and aware. Others of our losses occurred on the roads, in the air and in water, in sickbeds, at the cruel hands of vile murderers, and even before there was a life to live. How could I have stopped this? Why wasn’t I more vigilant? What more should I have done? How am I to cope and continue? These are a few of the questions haunting us, taking away our peace and our poise. They take us to that desolate place bereft of consolation called grief. There we may remain for a long time, buffeted by our thoughts and our feelings, often helpless to overcome the negativity.

I don’t know exactly how it happens, certainly not when it happens, but out of the blue the day dawns when we begin to think less fearfully, more constructively. We grasp the idea of a future and find the resources to plan for several to-morrows. Our children never leave our hearts and minds but increasingly we find room for ourselves and our survival. We become capable again, able to love and live and achieve other remarkable feats.

I hope that very soon you will start experiencing those beautiful, wonderful, strengthening thoughts.

Much love,

Rosemary Dirmeik

News & Events

The Compassionate Friends honours and remembers our beautiful children.
This tradition is observed throughout the universe on SUNDAY, 11 DECEMBER 2011 AT 7:00 (19:00). Please use your own time zone. Just imagine the beauty and sacredness of this celebration as a wave of light moves around the globe marking the entire 24 hours. What a blessed way to connect us to our children so that their light shines forever. The burning candles also symbolise the circle of compassion and loving warmth and understanding that TCF families bring to each other and their children.
Wishing all our members the strength that true courage brings and the hope that you gradually experience the stirrings of joy in your lives –

a peaceful Christmas, Chanukah and New Year

Words of Inspiration

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Please remember to use you’re “My Village Card” whenever you can. Contributions to TCF soon mount up. This is an easy way to get funds so please swipe that card!

Click Here for MORE INFORMATION on how you can help us raise funds easily !!

Don’t let death cast ugly shadows, but rather warm memories of the loving times you shared.

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