31/08/2026
Collective grief - Big church festival
Today should have been the day of packing up, clearing the site packing up tents and heading home…tired, perhaps, but filled with memories of an amazing weekend of worship, fellowship, encouragement, connection and spiritual renewal.
Instead, following the tragic accident at Big Church Festival, people left without saying good bye, with confusion and with heavy hearts. We are grieving the loss of a precious life, concerned for those who were injured, and holding their families, friends, witnesses, festival workers and emergency services in our prayers.
Many of you may also feel lost, confused, disappointed or strangely empty. You may be experiencing emotions you cannot easily explain: deep sadness, shock, guilt, helplessness, anger, anxiety, tearfulness, numbness, tiredness, irritability, a low mood, difficulty concentrating or an overwhelming sense that something is simply not right.
These can all be expressions of collective grief—and every one of them is valid.
As the writer of Compassionate Conversations, a three-week bereavement course, I have seen how important it is to give people the tools and the safe space to talk honestly about their thoughts, feelings and experiences.
Please don’t bury what you are feeling. Grief that is pushed down does not simply disappear; it becomes suppressed grief which can surprise us and surface when we least expect it.
Find someone you trust and talk. Gather a few friends and create a safe, gentle space where you can listen to one another without judgement or the need to find the right words. Sometimes simply saying, “This is how I feel today,” is enough.
Be gentle with yourself. Rest if you need to. Take a walk. Find someone who will listen. Acknowledge what you are feeling—and, most of all, talk to God.
When our own words fail us, He hears the ache of our hearts. He knows. He understands. And He remains close to the broken-hearted.
You do not have to carry this alone.
