A Note from the Board President
I have often reflected on the connection between the words refuge and hospice. I am honored to serve in two capacities: as the Board President of the Friends of the Deer Flat National Wildlife Refuge and as the Lead Chaplain at Keystone Hospice. In both places, I have the privilege of accompanying people on a journey.
Hospices and refuges are designed to help living, breathing beings find support and a place of safety, and to receive care throughout their individual journeys. In hospice, I walk alongside individuals who are passing from this life into the next. At the Refuge, we work to protect a place where countless birds find safety and rest as they move through the long journey of migration. Grebes, for example, migrate each year, but because they are highly adapted to water and difficult to track with traditional devices, we do not always know the exact routes they take or every place they pause along the way. Biologists understand their general wintering areas, yet each individual journey remains, in many ways, a mystery.
In time, the grebes return to our Deer Flat National Wildlife Refuge along their migratory paths. Our loved ones who die, of course, do not return in the same way. Still, there has been an important shift in how we understand grief. For many years, healing was often understood as letting go and moving on by forming entirely new bonds. While openness to new relationships is important, we are learning that healthy grief is often marked by continuing bonds with those who have died.
At times, this may mean finding places of refuge where memory, love, and grief are given room to surface and be tended. Many of us have experienced a deep sense of awe and peace when surrounded by nature. There is something uniquely healing about being outdoors in a place of beauty, where we can slow down, breathe deeply, and find rest. With this in mind, we invite you to join us at Deer Flat National Wildlife Refuge in Nampa on April 16 for Retreat at the Refuge: Healing of Nature and Self, a half-day retreat for individuals who have experienced the loss of a loved one.
The retreat will take place from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., with an optional extension until 2:00 p.m. Together with our partners at the Refuge, we will explore the healing connection between grief and the natural world through education, reflection, and optional service. Keystone Hospice social workers and chaplains will guide sessions focused on the healing benefits of nature in the grief process and offer practical tools participants can carry with them throughout life.
Following the group time, participants will have the opportunity to enjoy the refuge trails and observe the plants and wildlife that call this place home. You may choose to walk, sit in stillness, and simply notice the life that surrounds you. Lunch will be provided, followed by optional opportunities to give back to the Refuge. Depending on interest and ability, participants may help by picking up litter, pulling weeds, assisting at the Visitor Center, or engaging in other simple tasks. Each activity contributes to preserving the Refuge for wildlife and future generations.
Space is limited, so please RSVP to reserve your spot. We hope you will join us for this meaningful time of healing, reflection, and connection with the restorative beauty of nature.
J.D. Henry
Please call or text J.D. Henry at 208 899 0691 or email JHenry@keystonehospice.org to reserve your spot.