Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
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Beginning Experience Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Q. What is the Beginning Experience?
A. Beginning Experience is an international peer ministry for persons who are separated, divorced or widowed, and their children. The Support Programs offered through Beginning Experience invite resolution of the grief which comes with the loss of a spouse/partner or parent. They provide comfort and support, an opportunity to evaluate one’s self and the loss and then a way to close the door gently on the past and move ahead with confidence and well-being.
Q. How often are the programs held?
A. The Beginning Experience weekend are held 2 times a year; in spring and fall of each calendar year. The Weekly Support Programs are held three times a year, with each 10-week session beginning the second Wednesday of September, the second Wednesday of January, and the second Wednesday of April.
Q. Is it a Catholic experience?
A. Although the Beginning Experience was founded by a Catholic nun, it is non-denominational and open to participants of all faiths.
Q. What is the Beginning Experience Weekend and how long does it last?
A. The Beginning Experience weekend is a Friday evening to Sunday afternoon program for adults grieving the loss of a love relationship through death, divorce or separation, who are ready to come to terms with their loss and begin to move forward with their lives. This is the core program and the foundation of the Beginning Experience ministry.
Q. Where are the weekend programs held?
A. They are held at the Laureat's Landing in St. Norbert.
Q. What are the weekly programs?
A. The Weekly Support Programs are 10-week sessions that are held three times a year.
There are six individual programs that run concurrently. These are
Coping After the Loss of Your Partner,
Encountering Life Alone, Rebuilding When Your Relationship Ends,
Happiness is an Inside Job, and Tools for Communicating in a Relationship.
Whatever stage of grieving you at at, one of these programs will fit you. Then, if you wish,
you can continue to take the next program as you progress in your healing.
Q. Where are the weekly programs held?
A. They are held at Herzing College, 723 Portage Avenue at McGee. There is a parking lot in the back, which can be reached by driving down McGee from Portage Avenue and turning left. Entrance to the building is through the back door. The premises are controlled by a security guard.
Q. Who can attend?
A. Anyone who has been married or in a live-in relationship can attend. Individual programs have been designed for people who have very recently been separated or widowed or for those who have been separated or widowed much longer. We have had participants whose marriages ended 20 years earlier who had never been able to resolve their grief until they attended Beginning Experience.
Q. What happens on the Beginning Experience Weekend?
A. Participants will listen to a series of presentations, do private reflection, and share in small groups. It is an opportunity to do some re-evaluation of your life, experience healing, learn how to trust again, and to move forward in your life with hope and renewed energy.
Q. What is the cost of the Beginning Experience?
A. The cost for the Beginning Experience weekend is $250. This includes your Weekend materials, meals and lodging. The cost of the Weekly Support Programs is $70, which includes your books and workbooks. No one is turned away because of inability to pay. We have time payment plans and a scholarship program for those who are struggling financially.
Q. Is there support after the weekend program?
A. Yes, there are Weekly Support Programs available for those who have attended a Beginning Experience weekend.
Q. What makes Beginning Experience different?
A. Beginning Experience is unique in the fields of peer ministry and ministry to the single-again. Its well-structured programs are both psychologically and spiritually sound, having been designed and developed by respected professionals in the fields of ministry, grief psychology, education and organizational process. Furthermore, Beginning Experience provides for its lay ministers a comprehensive training program, which has been a pioneer in the field of ministry to the single again and has continued to improve from use and refinement over three decades.
Q. What does the emblem of the Beginning Experience represent?
A. The cross is a reference to the program's Christian roots. The anchor represents hope. The rising sun is a sign of the beginning of a new day.
Q. When did the Beginning Experience begin?
A. In Fort Worth, Texas in 1974 by Sister Josephine Stewart, a Roman Catholic nun. It was started in Winnipeg in 1982. See History
Q. Where can I get more information about the Beginning Experience?
A. You can call us today at 204-275-3090 (answering machine) or go to the Beginning Experience website See Contact Form.