Being with Grief is a full-day gathering designed for anyone who accompanies others through grief: hospice volunteers and staff, family caregivers, chaplains, Interfaith ministers, medical care providers, and more... 

Keynote speaker Koshin Paley Ellison Sensei draws on Zen principles to share a contemplative approach that invites participants to the practice of staying present, showing up fully wherever we are – at the bedside in a hospital or with a loved one at dinner.

A panel discussion and interactive breakout sessions provide opportunities for creative exploration of grief, small group discussions tailored to specific experiences of loss, and practices for personal reflection and professional care. Through writing, movement, ritual, or conversation, these sessions provide space to process and honor grief in its many forms. 

With support from the Maine Community Foundation’s Hospice Fund and St. Joseph’s College, the event ensures accessibility with a sliding-scale registration fee, inclusive of meals.

This workshop is an invitation to sit with grief, learn from it, and find connection in shared experience.

Schedule of Events

Comfort in the Midst of Discomfort: Grounded, Soft, Upright, Open
Koshin Paley Ellison Sensei

Breakout Sessions

Bones and Seeds, Susannah Crolius

Writing to Heal, Catharine H. Murray

Braiding the Past and Present: Navigating Unfinished Business in Grief
Steven Karaiskos

Yoga for Your Grieving Heart, Susannah SanFillippo

Circle Conversations, Rev. Angie Arndt and Rev Craig Werth

Lunch Conversation Tables

Maine Death with Dignity provides services, fact-based education, and end-of-life advocacy to people who wish to actively explore the meaning of life through embracing the certainty of death. A primary program of Maine Death with Dignity is connecting people to the information they need to make fully-informed decisions regarding all their end-of-life care options, and to support patients and providers through the entire process as needed. Table Host: Rev. Val Beebe-Lovelace

Voluntary Stopping Eating & Drinking (VSED) is when a mentally capable individual decides to control their own dying by making a conscious decision to refuse foods and fluids of any kind, including artificial nutrition and/or hydration, in order to advance the time of their death. Table Host:. Priscilla Platt

At Hospice of Southern Maine, we believe in doing everything we can to provide the highest quality of care for our patients. Hospice care focuses on the individual at the end of life, and their family. Hospice provides individualized care and support for people with a life expectancy of 6 months or less (if the illness runs its natural course). Table Host: Rev. Larry Greer

The Center for Grieving Children is a nonprofit organization that provides a safe space, loving peer support, outreach, and education to grieving children, teens, young adults, families, and the community. Services are offered at no cost in Portland, Sanford, and virtually, and are led by our dedicated and highly trained staff and volunteers thanks to the generous support of our wider community. Table Hosts: Kristin Lash, MSW – Grief Services & Volunteer Coordinator Jamie Schwellenbach, LCPC, DMT – Grief Services Manager & TLC Coordinator

Visit the Relic-Query Installation (Susannah Crolius)
Historically, reliquaries were highly ornate containers for all manner of dead, holy things, often the actual bones, body parts or sacred objects of holy or martyred persons. While most prominent in medieval Catholicism, every religious expression has some form of containing and revering sacred objects.

This portable installation is a different take on the traditional reliquary. It is a contemporary, contemplative, personal interactive refuge for reflecting on and unbinding your dry bones, the places that feel diminished, dusty, tired, frightened, dead in your heart, your body, your spiritual or faith life.

It can feel impossible to heal the pain of religious trauma and moral injury. When the foundation of your trust or ability to believe anything at all feels broken beyond repair, how will you find your way?

Join us as Rev. Beebe-Lovelace, former member of an evangelical cult, shares her way-finding story from the life-long effects of mind-controlling religious injury to a place of spiritual freedom.

Guest Presenter:

Rev. Valerie Beebe-Lovelace, ChIME 2022

Executive Director Maine Death with Dignity

Spiritual facilitator, and Homeopath

Each Open House includes an alumni teaching and a Q&A period about ChIME's Interfaith Ministry program. Staff, current students, and alumni will be on-hand to answer questions and share their experiences in the program. 

Will this be the year that you nourish your spiritual life with attention, care, and community?

The application period for the 2025-26 academic year is now open!

Each Open House includes an alumni teaching and a Q&A period about ChIME's Interfaith Ministry program. Staff, current students, and alumni will be on-hand to answer questions and share their experiences in the program. 

Will this be the year that you nourish your spiritual life with attention, care, and community?

The application period for the 2025-26 academic year opens March 1, 2025.

Join us for a special Open House as we welcome back three recent ChIME alumni—Julie, Polly, and Katherine—who will share their unique paths to becoming healthcare chaplains. Each of them has taken a distinct journey, shaped by their experiences at ChIME, additional training, and hands-on internships, leading them to their current roles in hospital and hospice chaplaincy.

During this session, you'll gain insight into the challenges and rewards of spiritual care in healthcare settings, the steps involved in pursuing chaplaincy as a career, and the deeply personal experiences that have shaped their callings. Whether you are considering chaplaincy, curious about the field, or simply interested in hearing heartfelt stories of service and transformation, this is an evening of learning and inspiration you won’t want to miss.

Come with your questions, reflections, and an open heart as we explore the vital work of chaplains in healthcare today.

This Interfaith Gathering is currently planned as an in-person event. If a shift to Zoom becomes necessary due to weather, we will send an update via email, social media, and our website closer to the date.

Fundraiser Screening to Support ChIME’s Student Scholarship fund

A Still Small Voice

Fundraiser Screening to Support ChIME’s Student Scholarship fund

Registration Required

$15, $25, $50, $100

*Please do not let finances stop you from attending. We have a small amount of scholarship tickets available. Pick the scholarship ticket if you are unable to pay but want to join!

On February 1, all registrants will receive a live link to view the film. This 14 day streaming link will be live from February 1 - February 14 and is for the registrant’s use only.

You may watch the film on your own and/or join us for an online community screening and conversation on Sunday, February 9 from 4 - 6:15 pm.

We will begin the film at 4:00. At 5:30, Abby Hall Luca, Community Coordinator, will facilitate a conversation to explore the film’s themes, questions, and take-aways.

Join us at 4 for the film, at 5:30 for the community conversation, or settle in with us for the whole afternoon. We look forward to sharing this powerful film with you and exploring the gifts and challenges of chaplaincy together.

January Open House

Each Open House includes an alumni teaching and a Q&A period about ChIME's Interfaith Ministry program. Staff, current students, and alumni will be on-hand to answer questions and share their experiences in the program. 

Will this be the year that you nourish your spiritual life with attention, care, and community?

The application period for the 2025-26 academic year opens March 1, 2025.

Join Us for Our First Open House of 2025!
Date: January 29, 2024
Time: 6:00 - 7:30 PM (ET)
Location: Zoom
Host: Abby Luca, ChIME Community Coordinator

We’re thrilled to welcome Circe Moss MacDonald, a 2019 ChIME Eco Chaplain, Water Priestess, and Ceremonial Artist, as our guest presenter. Circe will share her journey of co-creating The Cosmic Mass, a monthly ceremony at the Portland New Church for those who identify as spiritual but not religious (SBNR).

• Discover the Four Mystical Paths of Creation Spirituality

• Learn how these concepts come to life in The Cosmic Mass
  Explore how ceremony and community intertwine

• Whether you're curious about Creation Spirituality, seeking connection, or simply looking to experience something inspiring, this Open House is for you.

RSVP

This workshop will need to rescheduled. Please stay in touch for updated information!

EXPERIENCE THE RESTORATIVE AND AWE-INSPIRING POWER OF NATURE

Jennifer Comeau Bio:

A recent guest on Maine Calling's radio show (6/27/24), Jennifer Comeau inspires humans to remember and restore our sacred partnership with the rest of the natural world. A certified Forest Therapy Guide, singer-songwriter, and author-speaker, Comeau is published in four anthologies and her children’s book, “The Inside of ME” just launched by 12 Willows Press. She has produced two albums of original music and her debut novel, A Moon in All Things—a heroine’s journey to reclaim the old nature ways—will be published in January 2025 (12Willows Press). 

A former corporate executive, Comeau is a Trustee for TreeSisters.org, an international reforestation and women's empowerment organization and a Facilitator for OzGreen.org, in their YOUth LEADing The World program. She lives with her husband, John, and standard poodle, Bridey, in Kennebunkport, Maine where she writes, holds climate buoyancy workshops, hosts sacred circles, and runs a Wild Wonder Forest Bathing business.

Website: www.jennifercomeau.com

Email: jen@jennifercomeau.com

Phone: +1 207 229 4136

Dana Sawyer unpacks the philosophy-spirituality of Huxley, Watts, and Ram Dass (as well as our contemporaries, including Mirabai Starr and Richard Rohr) in ways readers will find intriguing, creating an original view of human nature, revealing why this mystical understanding of our world is called “perennial.”

During the 1960s and 70s, “Perennial Philosophy” was the most popular theory regarding what the world’s mystical traditions held in common, and it was touted as the best platform for understanding the nature of human consciousness…The Perennial Philosophy Reloaded corrects several common errors in understanding the perennial philosophy while providing a short, up-to-date overview of the general perspective…This book will appeal for the millions today who are involved with mindfulness meditation, hatha yoga, Transcendental Meditation, Tibetan Buddhism, Kabbalah, Zen, Sufism, Shamanic drumming, Christian Centering Prayer, or their own DIY approaches to spiritual awakening.

On 18 June 1983 — 40 years ago this month — 10 Baháʼí women were taken to a square in Shiraz, Iran, under the cloak of night. After months of torture and imprisonment, they were mass executed without the knowledge of their families. One was 17, most in their 20s. Their crime was their belief in a faith that promoted gender equality — absent and criminalized in Iran — justice and truthfulness. They were hanged one by one, each forced to watch the next woman’s death in a harrowing attempt to coerce them into renouncing their faith. None did. Their story, however, is not over. It was a chapter in the unfolding story of Iranian women’s resilience and sacrifice for equality. 

Join Parivash and Nasser Rohani to explore resilience, courage, faith, and community. We will honor all women who have contributed to building a better world, to say that our story is one and that through our unity, we will combat oppression. Both Nasser and Parivash contribute as members of the Portland Interfaith Clergy group. They currently reside in Portland, Maine.

Parivash Rohani

Parivash Rohani's life journey reflects a deep dedication to service and advocacy. Originating in Iran, she navigated the post-revolution era before seeking refuge in India. In 1985, she began a new chapter in the US, settling in Maine with her family.

Her passion for humanitarian, environmental, and interfaith causes drives her active involvement in initiatives such as "Education Is Not A Crime" and #ourstoryisone, highlighting her belief in grassroots-driven change and universal justice.

Committed to social engagement, she volunteers with organizations like the Maine Response Team, contributing significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic. Parivash also serves on boards like Greater Portland Family Promise and Portland Park Conservancy, earning recognition with awards like the Trailblazer Award and United Women Around the World Social Justice Award in 2017 and 2024, respectively.

Tahirih Justice Center

Nasser Rohani

Nasser Rohani was born in Iran. At 18 he left his birthplace for India to pursue higher education. After the advent of the Islamic Revolution in 1979, Nasser was unable to return to Iran due to his religious affiliation with the Baha’i Faith.

In 1985, after 11 years in India, Nasser and his wife, Parivash, along with their child, immigrated to the United States. Nasser joined the L.L. Bean Company, where he worked as a Systems Analyst in the Information Services Department for 32 years until his retirement in 2018.

Presently, Nasser is involved with the Portland Area Climate Action Team (PCAT). Nasser has shared his perspectives during diversity programs at middle and high schools across Maine and has delivered welcoming speeches to new Americans during Naturalization ceremonies. He is deeply passionate about public discourse, social action, and advancing causes related to the environment, racial justice, and civil debate.