We will have a workshop dealing with loss on Saturday September 9th, from 10:00am until 12:30pm. The facilitator is Harold Ivan Smith who will also be here for our conference in the fall. It will be from 10:00 a.m. till 12:30pm.

Harold Ivan Smith is a death and grief educator who speaks widely on these subjects, and conducts “grief gatherings” around the United States. A gifted storyteller, he encourages people to see things in new ways. Smith received a doctorate of pastoral care from Rice Seminary and another in spiritual formation from Asbury Theological Seminary. He is a member of the Association for Death Education and Counseling and the National Hospice Association's Council of Professionals. Smith has published more than thirty books, including "A Decembered Grief," "Grieving the Death of a Friend," "On Grieving the Death of a Father," and "Death and Grief: Helping Through the Small Group."

As a grief educator, Harold Ivan Smith is a wordsmith and storyteller, whether through his speaking, teaching, writing, or counseling. Through his word pictures and stories, listeners and readers say, “I never quite thought of it that way before.” Dr. Smith is a certified thanatologist and his pastoral care resource, "When Your People Are Grieving" received the ECPA Silver Medallion.

Harold Ivan is a member of the National Storytellers Association and is researching the use of “story telling” in grief resolution. He has pioneered in the use of children’s books with adult grievers. He leads Grief Gatherings--innovative storytelling groups at Saint Luke’s Hospital in Kansas City and in churches around the country.

He frequently leads workshops for hospice training events and pastoral leadership conferences. He is certified as a funeral celebrant.

Harold Ivan is a member of the National Council of Hospice Professionals and the Association for Death Education and Counseling and has presented on such topics as the use of poetry with grievers, the emergence of women pallbearers, how bereavement impacts faith of origin issues, and friendgrief, bereavement and pluralism, grief in the workplace, and grief by U.S. Presidents and First ladies. He serves on the Certification Panel for the Association for Death Education and Counseling.