Ryan and Kelly Breaux have been married for 18 years. In 2005, they delivered a set of twins. Their son Talon passed away after 15 days in the hospital, and their daughter Emma Grace joined him in heaven at four years old.
During that time, the Breauxs were unable to process their loss.
RYAN AND KELLY BREAUX
Founders, Red Bird Ministries
'Kelly and I never had the chance to grieve our first loss, who was our son Talon, because she switched into nurse mode, she couldn't work so she stayed home with our daughter because she was so ill. I went to work and it was just survival mode. We were in survival mode.'
After losing another child through miscarriage, Ryan and Kelly struggled with how to handle their grief. Yet it wasn't until they accompanied a friend through the loss of her young daughter that they began to consider how their experience of child loss could help other grieving families.
Together they searched for Catholic resources to support families suffering through child loss, but they came up empty handed.
RYAN AND KELLY BREAUX
Founders, Red Bird Ministries
'There was nothing that was Catholic, that offered the sacraments, that had Church teaching, that talked about Mary and Heaven in the way Catholics believe, and so we basically had to start from scratch and make things Catholic'.
That's what inspired them to launch Red Bird Ministries, a Catholic grief support ministry which accompanies those who have experienced child loss in their own lives.
By bringing couples together to share their experience of loss through group studies, couples' workshops, and speaker events, Red Bird Ministries ensures that no one should suffer through their grief alone.
Their mission is focused on putting the sacraments at the center of the healing process to address the spiritual demands of grief.
RYAN AND KELLY BREAUX
Founders, Red Bird Ministries
'The spiritual is primary. Our soul is bigger than our brain. And so, the sacraments provide the healing and help our families come out of that darkness, because once their soul is healed, the emotions and the triggers, become much more manageable'.
Red Bird Ministries is a testament to the power of faith to transform grief into grace, and a symbol of hope for families suffering through loss.
JM
