Grief is a changeling, morphing in form, intensity, and expression as we adapt to living with loss. Seasoning Grief is a retreat for those whose grief has shifted from its initial intensity yet continues to quietly shape their lives. If you find yourself reflecting on how grief continues to ripple through your days and you seek space to slow down and notice its quieter whispers, this retreat is for you.
Through reflection, movement, creative expression, ritual, and community, retreat leaders Jill and Kim will guide you in exploring how grief continues to flavor your experiences. You’ll gain renewed insight into grief’s presence in your life, along with practical and creative tools to engage with it more intentionally, carrying forward a sense of peace and companionship.
Seasoning Grief is offered as a program of Centrica Care Navigators.
About the Facilitators
Jill Terwilliger, M.Div., CPCC is a grief support counselor with Centrica Care Navigators. She embodies a compassionate and grounding presence as she works with individuals, small groups, and organizations to process and integrate the many layers of grief. In 2024, Jill gave her TEDx Kalamazoo talk, Befriending Grief, exploring how loss—when welcomed—can deepen connection and meaning.
Jill’s approach is shaped by a wide range of roles: mental health advocate, parish minister, hospice chaplain, restorative justice facilitator, and artist. Jill’s personal experience with grief began at 19 with the death of her father, a loss that continues to shape her work. Though her family jokes that she can find the dark side of any topic, Jill believes grief—when befriended—can become the root of joy, strength, and connection.
Kim Critz is the creator of Healing HeArtwork, a workshop series that invites people to explore creativity as a gentle companion through grief and life’s many transitions. With degrees in art education and the art of teaching, Kim blends the expressive power of art with steady, grounded care. She guides both artists and non-artists through hands-on, reflective experiences that bring calm to the mind and peace to the soul. Her workshops offer a quiet space to pause, breathe, and find clarity in changing seasons.
Having walked through her own deep seasons of loss, Kim now helps others tend to sorrow with presence and compassion. She believes grief, while heavy, can also reveal unexpected light, beauty, and renewal. Kim also serves as Associate Vice President of Marketing and Communications for NorthStar Care Community, including Centrica Care Navigators, where she shares the same compassionate care that once supported her own family, with the communities around her.
Retreat Schedule
Seasoning Grief runs from 5:00 p.m. on Friday to 1:00 p.m. on Sunday. Programing will occur between 9:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m., balancing group time, individual reflection, shared meals, and unscheduled time.
Registration and Lodging Details
Please pre-register to express interest in the retreat here: Seasoning Grief: A retreat to savor and soften your grief story, one year and beyond. Participation is limited to 18. After we receive your pre-registration form, we will send further details and a full registration packet as space is available.
Participants are asked to contribute $150 toward the cost of lodging and meals for the retreat. The majority of the retreat costs are covered by Centrica Care Navigators’ generous donors and funders.
Participants will stay on-site at GilChrist Retreat Center or neighboring retreat centers in Three Rivers, MI and must plan to participate in all three days of the retreat. Lodging will be arranged through your full registration form. Participants will check into their lodging between 1:00 and 4:00 p.m. on Friday, October 31. Cabin check-out is at 2:00 p.m. on Sunday, November 2. See the complete GilChrist FAQ for more information about the facility.
Nourishing and nurturing meals will be provided by Of the Land, featuring seasonal and local offerings.
