Coaching at End of Life (including living losses) and Grief Coaching equips people to walk with those who are facing all the losses of life.
One important distinction from life and executive coaching is that grief coaching likely will not lead to a goal or action step, at least not at first.

Grieving and mourning are important parts of healing and learning to adjust to life when loss, transition, and/or death occurs. First and foremost, it is important to recognize your feelings, give yourself time and space to mourn in healthy ways, and take care of yourself after a loss. ELCA Coaching has a cadre of certified grief coaches who can accompany you on this journey.

Connect with a grief coach
Supportive Spaces
Confidential support groups for faith leaders

ELCA Coaching is a ministry of accompaniment and encouragement. Through this lens, we piloted two support groups across multiple synods in 2023 and are ready to expand this offering in anticipation of an even more polarized landscape in 2024. These groups can be broad or tailored to specific types of grief, such as deaths, transitions, stressful seasons, etc. They can also be for anyone or tailored to specific groups, such as synod staff, pastors, deacons, synod council members, lay leaders, people of color, LGBTQIA+, etc.

ELCA Coaching will provide at least two professionally-trained grief and loss coaches per support group, and possibly more depending on the size of the group. If your ministry or synod is interested in offering this option to your leaders, please email info@elcacoaching.org with your request.

One of countless reasons we are offering these support groups: "Did you know pastors’ spiritual support systems aren’t as consistent as they used to be? In 2015, 37 percent of pastors told Barna they received support from a network of peers or from a mentor at least several times a month. As of 2023, that proportion had dropped to 19 percent."

ELCA Grief and Transition Resources

For congregationally-based grief (including leadership transitions, mergers, yoking, holy closure, and more), we also recommend the rich library of resources collected by our friends at ELCA Grief and Transition Resources.

Recordings and Resources for Individuals

Sharing our Grief and Hope with One Another: Principles for Coaching Yourself Through Crisis and Stress - Dr. Don Eisenhauer, MCC (March 25, 2020)

Sharing our Grief and Hope with Those We Serve: Principles for Coaching Others Through Crisis and Stress - Dr. Don Eisenhauer, MCC (April 1, 2020)

The Sacred Work of Grief, Part 1: Rituals of Renewal - Rev. Solveig Nilsen-Goodin (September 2, 2020). Be sure to check out all 7 parts.

How Are You? No, Really! Processing Grief and Loss - Jason O'Neill, PCC (March 23, 2022)

Learn more about Grief and End of Life Coaching Connect with a grief coach