• DSM GriefTend

  • Tending Our Collective Sorrow: A Community Grief Ceremony

    Hosted by Hannah Whetston and Kelsey Taylor

  • Date: Wednesday September 16th, 2026

    Time: 5:00 - 8:00 pm

    Location: Unity Center of Des Moines

    414 31st St

    Des Moines, IA 50312

     

     

    “To honor our grief, to grant it space and time in our frantic world, is to fulfill a covenant with soul—to welcome all that is, thereby granting room for our most authentic life.”

    ― Francis Weller 


    This is a set space and time to bring what is weighing on your heart. You do not hold this alone. We honor the experiences of life and meet each other as sacred witnesses.

    We are here to support your transformation into an expanded capacity to stay whole, present, and embodied in the midst of heaviness.

    We will learn more ways of grieving through guided breath, voice, movement, writing and song practices. We will create and agree to a set of guidelines that will support our time together. There is no right or wrong way to grieve.

      

    “What one acknowledges in the formation of community is the possibility of doing together what is impossible to do alone.”  

    – Malidoma Patrice Somé

     

    The community is a tether that holds you as you dive into the depths and allow the waves of grief to rise, churn, and rinse through. You can go there. You will not drown. You are not doing this alone.

    When we take time to tend to our grief we also strengthen our capacity to feel joy and to celebrate this experience of life.

     

     

    What to bring:

    A water bottle, journal, and pen.

    Chairs are provided. You may bring a yoga mat, cushion, or blanket if you wish to utilize the floor for stretching and moving.

     

    You are invited to bring items for our community altar. This may be a photograph, piece of art, or any physical object that represents that which you are grieving. This may also be an item of beauty that represents that which supports you.

      

     

    About your hosts:

    Hannah Whetston is a grief tender, spirit tender, and body tender. She holds space for those in the midst of transition in one-on-one and small group sessions that combine prayer and bodywork. She was introduced to community ritual immersion in 2021 working with the late Dagara elder, Malidoma Somé. Hannah completed An Apprenticeship with Sorrow: Community Grief Leadership Training with Francis Weller in 2023. She has a deep love of creating ceremony and ritual.

    Kelsey Taylor is a psychotherapist and grief tender who supports others in meeting and alchemizing the burdens and grief they carry from their own lives and the lives that came before them. Through Internal Family Systems (IFS), she guides people toward accessing Resource, culitivating compassionate connection with the parts of themselves that carry pain, and making space for what has been held too long. Kelsey was introduced to community grief ritual in 2024 and is a Certified Level 3 IFS Therapist.  She is deeply drawn to the ways ritual can help us honor grief, reconnect with what matters, and remember that we do not have to carry our sorrow alone. 

  • Registration

  • We believe community grief support should be accessible. Please choose the pricing tier that is both affordable and generous.

    prevnext( X )
          Sustainer

          Covers the full cost of the workshop

          $60.00$60.00
            
          Supporter

          Helps make lower-cost spots possible for others

          $80.00$80.00
            
          Community

          For those with limited financial resources

          $40.00$40.00
            
          Total
          $0.00$0.00
        • Please submit payment via Venmo to @KelseyTaylor12 or send cash or check payment to "Kelsey Taylor" at 400 E Court Ave Suite 236 Des Moines, IA 50309 by September 10, 2026 to complete your registration. You will receive a confirmation email of successful registration upon payment receipt.

        • Informed Consent/Liability Waiver and Agreement

          Confidentiality is a collective responsibility of all group members and facilitators, however group facilitators cannot guarantee group members will not share your information with others. Thus confidentiality among group members is based on mutual trust and respect. By signing this form, I agree to maintain the privacy of my fellow group members. This includes but is not limited to names, physical descriptions, medical information and specifics of the content of interactions with other group members. Exceptions to confidentiality include 1.) being in imminent danger of harming yourself or someone else; 2.) knowledge of or suspicion of current and ongoing child abuse or dependent adult abuse. I understand that community grief ceremony may include physical activity, the risk of injury is present and cannot be entirely eliminated. I understand it is my responsibility to consult with a physician and mental health provider prior to and regarding my participation in this program and to follow my medical teams recommendations. Community grief ceremony is not substitute for psychotherapy, medical examination, diagnosis, or treatment. If you are in crisis, please call 911, visit your nearest emergency room, call or text 988, or visit Broadlawns Crisis Observation Center at 1914 Carpenter Ave Des Moines, IA 50314. I affirm that I am responsible to decide whether to participate in community grief ceremony and participation is at my own risk. I hereby agree to release and waive any claims against Kelsey Taylor and Hannah Whetston. I have read, fully understand and agree to the above terms of this Liability Waiver and Agreement. I am signing this agreement voluntarily and recognize that my signature serves as a release of all liability to the greatest extent allowed by law in the State of Iowa.
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