Starlight Ministries is a Christ centered ministry that provides Hope, healing, and support for those who are grieving a death loss.
OUR HISTORY
On November 4, 2007, the Van Wienen’s lost their son Seth after he was struck by a car while crossing the street. At the time, the Van Wienen’s had six other school aged children. The children eventually returned to school and felt absolutely out of place… as if everyone was looking at them, talking about them and generally avoiding them. This made the death of their brother even more difficult and they felt alone. Ten months after Seth’s death they attended a day long grief camp where they were able to be with other kids their age that had experienced similar losses. After only 8 hours, the children no longer felt alone with the thoughts and emotions they had been experiencing. It was then that God placed on Greg and Jolynn’s hearts to create a place that could last longer than one day. A place where children, teens and families could feel God’s love and receive support from other grieving individuals.
STAFF
GWEN KAPCIA, BSW, Certified Thanatologist
Director of Program Development
Questions about Starlight Ministries and requests for speaking at your organization/event regarding grief and loss CONTACT: gwen@starlightmin.org
ROSANNA DOORNBOS
Office Manager
Questions about donations, billing, or financials CONTACT: rosanna@starlightmin.org
PAULA DRYER
Program Assistant
Questions about registering for events and enrollment for support groups CONTACT: paula@starlightmin.org
ANNISE KOOPS, MSW
Family Services Coordinator
Questions about child and adults grief support groups, along with any programming support services. CONTACT: annise@starlightmin.org
KERI VERWOLF
Family Services Coordinator, Muskegon
Questions about child and adult grief support groups in Muskegon, as well as volunteer and service opportunities for Muskegon groups. CONTACT: keri@starlightmin.org
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Greg Van Wienen
Founder & Secretary
Physician with Mercy Health Physician Partners
Jolynn Van Wienen
Co-Founder
Registered Nurse
Kyle Kunnen
President
Senior Vice President, Mercantile Bank of Michigan
jeffrey doornbos
Vice President
Regional Sales Director, Cascade Die Casting Group
jeff elders
Treasurer
Principal, VMDE CPA Group
susan vandePol
Board Member
Author and Speaker
ken patterson
Board Member
Senior Operations Engineer, Steelcase Inc.
karen devries
Board Member
Registered Nurse, Mercy Health
tim wolffis
Board Member
Sales Manager, Michigan Valve and Fitting
STORIES OF HOPE
Stories of lives restored from participants of Starlight Ministries.
CATHY TILBURT
I discovered Starlight Ministries in September of 2016 by God's providence. I was reading a book by Miriam Neff & learned about the Widow Retreat from the Widow Connection website. That led me to visit the Starlight website & I discovered the Peer-to-Peer groups that way. After the first meeting, both Taylor & I were comforted to know that there were other people who get what we are going through.
Taylor attended Camp Anew this past summer, & even though he was hesitant at first, he really appreciated his time there. He came home with a better outlook on his dad's passing. For that, I am grateful! Through the Peer-to-Peer group, he was able to reconnect with a former classmate. He was also able to talk about his dad's passing & work through his thoughts, feelings & emotions surrounding his dad's death. We will never be able to fully say Thank You to Starlight Ministries for all of the support they have given to Taylor & I through the different parts of their ministry.
Paul Elias
Starlight gives us hope, because they bring others together that have kind of shared this path. They help us to understand what we’re going through, that we are not alone and we will get through this. Starlight developed their program and it’s like the church was meant to be. We come together, we share a meal and then we break off and then we break off into our age appropriate groups for small group time.
I have attended the Widow Retreat for the past two years & I come away blessed & refreshed every time. I am also thankful for the friendships that have formed from the Peer-to-Peer group at Starlight Ministries. I am grateful that there are people who I can talk to anytime who will fully understand the way that I am feeling. Starlight has been a blessing beyond comprehension to us, individually & as a family.
Amy Sikkema
Starlight’s been a blessing in so many ways; the grieving process of loosing a spouse and moving forward with this journey, it’s great to have the support of community and knowing that we walk hand in hand; we’re not alone.
