Mended Hearts ministry helps widows, widowers cope with ‘disease’ of losing a spouse

When her husband Tommy passed away in 2021, Charmion Brown found she had lost more than her spouse.  

“It was as though widows and widowers had a disease,” Brown said. “No one wanted to have anything to do with us.” 

What she saw was widows and widowers being overlooked and ignored. Brown said she would read articles about losing spouses and the extreme grief, “but nothing is being done to help us in this situation.” 

The idea of starting a support group for widows and widowers came to Brown, so she went to her pastor, Ryan Skiebe at Valley Grande Baptist Church.  

“I told him I think the Lord wants me to start something for the widow and the widower. But I don’t have a college degree in how to start things, so how do I start something?” Brown said. 

She found out the best way to start something is to start it, so she started Mended Hearts, a ministry dedicated to widows and widowers. 

“This is not a ‘matching up group’ by any means,” Brown said. “It’s a time we can come together as a family with one thing in common: we have all lost a spouse.”  

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She said that the members of the group now know that there are others that care, and that they are there if they need someone to call when they need comfort. She added it’s also a blessing to be able to comfort someone else. 

Mended Hearts meets at Valley Grande Baptist Church the last Friday of each month. Brown said she started with six people, but it has grown to an average of 17 or 18 people each meeting.  

“We have a devotional sometimes. We play board games, we watch movies and sometimes we laugh and sometimes we cry,” Brown said. “We go to restaurants if I can find one that has enough room for us.” 

Mended Hearts has taken some exciting road trips to Georgia and the Birmingham Zoo. The trip to Georgia was to the Biblical History Center in La Grange to experience the Journey to Galilee Tour. The group learned about biblical history, culture and architecture. They were also treated to a meal inspired by the foods eaten in biblical times. 

Brown said the Mended Hearts Ministry “has truly been blessed, if you just let God take control.”  She said it has helped a lot of people. "The people that are coming out to join the group are not sitting at home waiting for that trumpet to blow,” Brown said. “They are getting out, and they are living.” Brown said she contacts all the members twice each month to check on them and to remind them about the meeting.  

The next meeting of Mended Hearts will be at Valley Grande Baptist Church Sept. 29 at 10 a.m. There will be special musical guests. “This month we have The Central Alabama Dulcimers,” Brown said. “I’m one of them.”  

Any widows or widowers interested in joining the group can call Brown at 334-872-2614 or 334-419-0572.