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


Sunday - September 21, 2025 / CST
Tending the Garden: Somatic & Creative Pathways for Grief
Sunday 9/21/2025
2:00 pm - 5:30 pm

Erica Franzen
Sanctuary Studios
1800 7th Avenue, Moline, IL 61265