By Andy Hale
This week on the CBF Podcast Conversation, Andy welcomes Leanne Friesen—Executive Minister with Canadian Baptists of Ontario and Quebec and author of Grieving Room. In this tender and honest conversation, Leanne invites us into a deeper understanding of grief—not as something to fix or rush through, but as something to make space for. Drawing from her own experience of loss, she names the quiet harm of phrases like “Don’t say that!” and the ways churches and communities often unintentionally silence the very emotions people most need to express.
Together, they explore the all-consuming nature of grief and the importance of resisting the urge to tidy it up with quick theological answers. Leanne speaks candidly about doubt, anger, regret and the long, uneven journey through loss—reminding us that faith is not the absence of these emotions, but the willingness to hold them honestly before God. This conversation also offers wisdom for those walking alongside grieving loved ones, naming both the beauty and the difficulty of showing up well.
At its heart, Grieving Room is an invitation—to create space for the “and” of grief: sorrow and joy, tears and laughter, despair and hope. Whether you are navigating loss yourself or seeking to better care for others, this episode offers a compassionate and freeing vision of what it means to grieve faithfully.
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Sponsorship
This podcast is presented by:
- Baylor’s Garland School of Social Work: Social workers can be found addressing the full scope of the human experience in churches, schools, prisons, government agencies, senior living centers, nonprofits, and Fortune 500 companies.
- Baptist Seminary of Kentucky: BSK equips leaders through their Homegrown Initiative, offering ministry leaders training and growth that fits into their busy schedules.
- The Gardner-Webb School of Divinity: The Gardner-Webb University School of Divinity aims to equip, nurture, encourage, and support men and women for their very best service in the Kingdom of God.
- The Center for Congregational Health: Strengthening congregations through consulting, leadership coaching, and intentional ministry.
- The Baptist House of Studies at Union Presbyterian Seminary: Exists by God’s grace to educate, inspire, and support generations of bold, faithful servant leaders as they seek actively to participate in God’s mission in the world.
- Community Transformation Center: Through educational opportunities, community conversations, and research initiatives in collaboration with universities and local leaders, PBACTC is at the forefront of integrating spiritual care into holistic community development.
- Creation Justice Ministries: Creation Justice Ministries equips churches to turn conviction into faithful action with Scripture-based resources, worship guides, and community support to pursue environmental justice and care for God’s creation.
- Dawnings: Through prayerful discernment, storytelling, and collaborative visioning, Dawnings helps churches rediscover their calling and imagine their next chapter—guided by trained facilitators and grounded in God’s ongoing story.
- Congregational Ministries Team of CBF Global: Through coaching, resources, and collaborative support, CBF’s Congregational Ministries Team helps churches and ministers cultivate the five traits of thriving—Rooted Relationships, Compelling Clarity, Holy Tenacity, Strategic Agility, and Dynamic Collaboration—for faithful and flourishing ministry.
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Andy Hale is the creator and host of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship Podcast. Hale is the Associate Executive Coordinator of CBF North Carolina. He’s also served as CBF’s Church Start Specialist, the founding pastor of Mosaic Church of Clayton, and the senior pastor of University Baptist Church of Baton Rouge. Follow on Twitter @haleandy.