You are invited to join us for a very special weekend of song and communal grief tending.
This weekend will be facilitated by a dear teacher and elder, Laurence Cole, who has many years experience in this work, as well as leading community singing around the country.
Grief Ritual Retreat | Mosier, OR
Facilitated by Laurence Cole
Friday, August 21 - Sunday, August 23 2026
Grief Tending in CommunityIn many traditional cultures throughout the world, the full and wholesome expression of grief arising from life’s inevitable sorrows and losses was often known to be most effectively released in a communal setting. It was recognized that unexpressed grief could be toxic, leading to illness, depression, addiction, even damaging and violent behavior towards oneself or others. It also was known that through supporting one another in holding compassionate witness and energetic presence in a sacred ritual container that welcomed the many faces and forms of grieving, a people could reweave the bonds of respectful connection and belonging that served to hold them together in an interdependent, mutually flourishing community.
The spiritual framework for this retreat includes time-honored and earth based modalities such as invoking the energies of the 7 directions, utilizing the power of drumming and chanting, the belief that the natural world is a rich place of inter-connection with “all our relations,” and the importance of working with the unseen realms, including our ancestors.
Laurence Cole is an elder, songleader and ritualist from Port Townsend, Washington, and has been helping groups of people rediscover the healing power of grieving communally for over ten years. Guided and inspired by the teachings of Malidoma Some, Sobonfu Some, Angeles Arrien, Michael Meade, James Hillman, Francis Weller, Joanna Macy and many others, Laurence creates a safe and brave, non-judgmental space for folks to rediscover their natural human capacity for healing together.
Blending song, poetry, easy grounding movement, small and large group sharing, humor, silent reflective solitude in nature, and the co-creation of a beautiful ritual setting, Laurence provides a journey through the depths and heights of our aliveness, often leading to a sense of renewal, connection and even an awakened capacity for radiant joy.
Illness Policy
Please do not attend if you are experiencing any symptoms of illness. If you need to cancel last-minute due to illness, your payment will be refunded.
Weekend Logistics & Lodging
Our event location is in the beautiful, small town of Mosier, which sits next to the Columbia River Gorge, approximately an hour east of Portland.
If you'd like to join us for this potent gathering, our schedule will be as follows:
Friday arrive no earlier than 12:30 Friday afternoon to get settled. We will gather at 3pm to open the ritual space afterward.
Saturday Ritual 9am - 10pm (estimated end time)
Sunday Ritual 9am - 3pm. Departure 4ish.
NOTE: We highly encourage people to create spaciousness for this entire event. We hope to be doing really big work. If you will be returning to your home we ask that you maintain the integrity of the experience. Please DON'T try to manage other aspects of your life. We ask that you both create space in your life and prioritize this work. If you will be staying off-site, please be early for scheduled events and don't leave before we are done.
Accommodations are mostly camping, though some indoor accommodation may be available on a first-come, first-served basis, with priority given to elders and those with physical needs.
Exchange
BIPOC: $275
Supported: $350(for those in real need of financial support, limited to 10 spots)
Standard: $450 (for those who can pay full price)
Supporter: $525 (for those able to donate extra to support those in need)We are offering a 15% discount for the LGBTQ+ community. If you are unsure of how much to pay, please refer to this Sliding Scale table created by Sienna Tedesci of Northwest Grief Tending.
We do our best so that no person is turned away due to lack of funds. Please contact Maggie - maggie.converse@gmail.com if funds are preventing you from attending.
This is really deep and important work that we want to make sure that this remains accessible for our entire community. Donations are always welcome as they create space for scholarship (no cost) spots to open up. Even $5 or $10 makes a difference. Donations support us and our community in this work and can be sent to @Maggie-Converse (Venmo). Please specify in the notes that you are sending grief ritual mutual aid.
The price includes compensation/travel for Laurence, land fee for our hosts, camping fees, and breakfast/dinner. We'll provide healthy, nourishing meals for dinners and breakfast. Vegetarian, vegan, gluten free options available. LUNCH is on your own. We donate at least 10% of each ticket sold to The Sonder Project - A clean water initiative created by followers of Malidoma Somé and Sobonfu Somé, bringing sustainable, clean water to Dagara communities in reciprocity for their teachings.
The event will be filled on a first come, first served basis. If you know you want to attend, please don't hesitate to RSVP.
If there is someone to whom you'd like to extend the invitation, please forward this message to them.
To reserve your spot:
1. Please complete the registration form. REGISTRATION FORM
2. You will receive a confirmation email either inviting you to confirm your spot, requesting payment for your total donation via Venmo to Maggie at @Maggie-Converse OR letting you know that you are on our waitlist.
3. Your spot is confirmed once we have received payment.
We are honored to hold this gathering and to welcome Laurence into our midst. If there is curiosity or a longing in your heart to find out more, or if this work feels pertinent and calls to you at this time, please consider giving yourself this extraordinary and life-changing experience. For a rich primer on this work, we recommend "The Wild Edge of Sorrow" by Frances Weller as reading material.
For logistical or travel questions, please reach out to
Aurora: roaritafire@gmail.com
For questions or concerns related to the ritual itself, please reach out to our organizers
Maggie and Aurora: