Tending the Garden: Somatic & Creative Pathways for Grief

A two-part, pay-what-you-can offering at Sanctuary Studios in Moline, IL
Facilitated by
Erica Denise Franzen, LMT, LST, Shamanic Counsel (Death Walker, Grief Companion, End-of-Life Doula) 
& Lauren Gil Hayes, LCSW  (Grief Therapist, Loneliness Scholar, End-of-Life Doula)

This is a shared grief space where we can bring our collection of inner altars and lay them down in witness to partners and the collective. "Tending the Garden" is a communal ritual for anyone moving through grief - quiet grief, complicated grief, anticipatory grief, or the kind that doesn't have a name.  We’ll gather with sound, writing, breath, and ritual to tend to what’s present. There’s no pressure to fix or move on; just an invitation to be with and witness it. Together.

We’re offering two sessions this summer in the series and recommend attending both:

Solstice Session: “Composting & Blooming”
An activated 3.5 to 4-hour gathering with an optional garden experience afterward.
Includes altar-building, writing, soundscapes, and participatory ritual.

Short Session: “The Seed in the Dark”
A quieter, 2-hour gathering.
Includes sensory exploration, sound bath, and gentle witnessing.

What to expect:

  • A place to be with your grief in community

  • Invitations to move, rest, write, and reflect in response to loss

  • Shared silence and sound

  • No fixing, no performing--just tending

Come as you are. Bring something small for the opening altar if you’d like. All grief is welcome.


Upcoming Classes





No classes have been scheduled

1800 7th Avenue, Moline, IL 61265