Rock Ceremony
Suggested Group(s): Middle/Teen/Adult
Purpose: To reflect on time in group and prepare to say goodbye
Task/need: Group structure (closing)
Activity Setup Ideas:
- Reflect back on the time spent together in the group, acknowledging both the fun times and the tough aspects of attending the Caring Place.
- Let the group members know that they will be taking part in a ceremony to close their group time together.
Materials:
- Rocks, both smooth and shiny and rough and unpolished (try to have a good variety in the smoothness and roughness of the rocks and enough for the group to select multiple rocks if desired)
- A decorative basket or other container
Description: Talk about the grief journey and the metaphor of a rock. Try to engage the older groups in discussion where they draw the parallel between the grief journey and the journey of a rough rock becoming smoother.
- It is through the wearing down of a rough rock by other rough encounters that the rock becomes smoother and more polished. Without these rough encounters, the rock would not become as polished and appealing. This wearing down of the rough parts and sharp edges happens over time through encounters with rough and abrasive forces. Like the rock’s journey from a rough rock to a smooth one, a person’s grief journey begins as very rough and becomes smoother over time. At different times in the journey, there may be both roughness and smoothness, gradually giving way to more smoothness than roughness.
Pass the container of rocks around the group, inviting each member to select a rock that represents his/her place on the grief journey, ranging from very rough for someone still very much in the roughness of the journey to completely smooth for a person in a very smooth and comfortable space in his/her journey.
Allow the group members to reflect on and share their thoughts about the rocks, their space in the grief journey and the impact that the group has had on those journeys.
Activity Wrap Up Ideas:
- Quietly thank the group members and begin to transition to the closing ceremony in the Forum.
Suggestions: The rock ceremony can also be used as a comparative activity where the group members select one rock to represent the beginning of the session and another to represent their present position on the grief journey.
