Who we are:
St John's Shaughnessy Anglican Church, Vancouver is a community of Christians dedicated to the exposition and teaching of the Word of God, to the spreading of the good news of the Gospel at home and abroad, and to the application of God's purpose in our own lives and families.
caring > divorce care
No one need face separation and divorce alone. This program is designed to provide emotional and practical help, using education and group support to help with healing from separation and divorce.
DivorceCare is a program for people who are going through a divorce, are separated, or have been divorced. The intent of the program is to help you deal with the pain of the past and look forward to rebuilding your life.
DivorceCare at St. John’s consists of seminars and support groups led by people who have themselves experienced divorce and healing. The material used is produced by experts on divorce and recovery, licensed from Church Initiative Inc.
Each week, you will meet to view a professional video on a different topic related to divorce, participate in a discussion with your support group, and have time for 1:1 prayer. Referral to professional counseling is also available, if needed.
This year, DivorceCare is offered on a twice-weekly basis for 7½ weeks, on Monday and Thursday evenings. Dates are August 25 to October 6. The cost of the materials is $20, and pre-registration is strongly advised.
DivorceCare videos – feature 33 top experts on a wide variety of topics related to separation and divorce. They also include personal stories of people who have been through separation and divorce.
Support group – for thirteen weeks during the program you will become part of a small group. After the video presentation, the groups discuss the video and its application in their lives.
Between sessions – you will have time to reflect on the topics presented on the videos, what happened at the group meetings, and have the opportunity to work through the “On My Own” sections in the workbook. This material can make a real difference in your recovery.
You will gain access to valuable DivorceCare resources to help you deal with the pain of the past and look forward to rebuilding your life.
Topics include:
- What’s happening to me – why divorce hurts so much and how to stabilize my life
- The road to healing – understanding emotional damages, phases of grieving, how to grieve, consequences of not grieving, roadblocks to recovery
- Identifying my sources of anger – divorce anger, sources of anger, ways to deal with anger, anger tool kit
- Facing my depression – what depression is, depression symptoms, depression strategies, overcoming depression
- Facing my loneliness – cause and consequences of loneliness and how to deal with loneliness
- What the owner’s manual says – what is God’s intention for marriage, and why the Bible is important in finding God’s help and guidance
- New relationships – how to know if you are ready
- Financial survival – strategies to minimize the financial strain of divorce
- Kidcare – understanding the effects of divorce on children and how to avoid mistakes
- Single sexuality – how to deal with sexual urges and desires
- Forgiveness – how to know if I have forgiven
- Reconciliation – how marriages come back together, how to reconcile without remarrying
- Moving on – growing closer to God
There are thousands of divorce recovery support groups meeting worldwide, and the DivorceCare program at St John’s is open to all, not just church members. At St. John’s, well over 200 people have completed this program and we have seen amazing results.
We encourage you to look expectantly at what God can do in your life. Steve Grisson, producer, writer and host of the DivorceCare program writes: “Our prayer is that you will heal and, in the process, develop a deepening relationship with God through Jesus Christ.”
