I got a packet of tracts about grief and loss in the mail a week ago from one of our local churches, a very conservative Baptist church whose pastor has a daily radio show.

I guess their hearts are in the right place, but to me, that seems kind of tacky and counterproductive – reading the obituaries and sending out impersonal cold-call packets to people you don’t know at a very vulnerable time in their lives. That’s not good evangelism or good grief counseling. It’s definitely in the best traditions of Christian compassion to reach out to those who are grieving, and I value to the comfort which has been extended by people who know me, both from my home church, Shelbyville First UMC, and from other churches. But surely there are better ways to reach out to those in grief than ambulance-chasing.