People want to be helpful when friends are experiencing grief. However, the fear of saying the wrong thing often limits any expression of compassion at all. On April 28, 2022, at a Bright Tomorrows Breakfast Seminar in the Laureate Conference Room in Tulsa, Dave Dunson shared with ministry leaders an excellent presentation entitled Grief Care: A Cohesive Plan of Compassion. Some truly significant insights and practical helps were communicated as a result of Dave’s 30-plus years of Chaplaincy with Tulsa Police & Fire, as well as from his 50-plus years of pastoral ministry. Caring for people experiencing grief and loss is clearly a significant passion in Dave’s life.
Sadly, due to a technical mishap, the audio portion of the videotaping was lost, and we feared access to this seminar was lost. Happily, we discovered that Dave later presented this material in a two-part sermon series to his church congregation. He and the Lead Minister, Brian Jennings, of Highland Park Christian Church, Tulsa, have permitted Bright Tomorrows to merge these two messages into a single presentation. We believe that you will find this presentation both inspiring and helpful in practical ways.
TAKE-AWAY OBJECTIVES:
Among other things, you will learn (1) how to embrace people at the current point in their grief experience, (2) how to express meaningful compassion, and (3) how to extend comfort in practical ways.
SPECIAL NOTE:
Approximately one month after Dave Dunson’s April 28 Bright Tomorrows presentation, he was diagnosed with cancer and subsequently required treatment. He refers to this at a point in this presentation.
DAVID DUNSON BIO:
Dave is currently a Pastoral Care Minister and former Lead Minister at Highland Park Christian Church in Tulsa. As Highland Park’s Pastoral Care Minister since 2009, Dave has served by Leading GriefShare Sessions, established Highland Park’s Stephen’s Ministry, Prayer Events Host, Ministry Teams Coordinator, and Adult Teacher.
Dave is also voluntarily a part of the TULSA POLICE & FIRE CHAPLAINCY CORPS from 1992 to the present. He was part of the 1995 Murrah Federal Building Bombing (OKC): Chaplain Response Team; 2005 Hurricane Katrina Disaster Mortuary Team: and led a Training Workshop for Ukraine National Police (Kiev) in 2017.