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Last year, Revd. Sharon Grenham-Thompson received the news every parent dreads; her son, Leo, had died in tragic circumstances. She is now left to navigate grief as she experiences life without Leo.

As a priest in the Church of England, she has often brought comfort to bereaved families, but she now goes through that process herself on a personal and intimate level. She draws support from others who have lost loved ones, from ceremonies and rituals held in Leo’s memory, from her community, both in real life and online, and from her faith. The solemnities and festivals of the liturgical year bring up a range of thoughts and emotions – none more so than Holy Week and Good Friday.

There are poignant parallels between the Good Friday story and Sharon’s own experience as she identifies strongly with the heartbreak of Mary, the mother of Jesus, standing beneath the cross. Jesus’ death and resurrection is central to Christianity and Sharon turns to Jesus’ Seven Words from the Cross - the seven phrases reportedly uttered by Jesus in the final hours before his death - and asks how they might resonate with those who are grieving today.

Through conversation with those who have walked that road before her, Sharon explores grief from a personal perspective and reflects on how the Good Friday story encapsulates different elements of the grieving process. With music and poetry for Passiontide this is a search for spiritual solace in the heart of suffering that unites human experience with theological reflection.

READER: Christopher Eccleston

PRODUCER: Katharine Longworth