A reminder that the 20th annual
Compassionate Friends Worldwide Candle Lighting
to honor the memory of the sons,
daughters, brothers, sisters and grandchildren who left too soon will be held.
It unites family and friends around the globe when hundreds of thousands of
people commemorate and honor their memory. Candles are lit for one hour at 7
p.m. local time. By doing this, it creates a virtual 24-hour wave of light as
it moves from time zone to time zone.
It started in the U.S. in 1997 as a small internet
observance, but has since swelled in numbers as word has spread throughout the
world. Hundreds of formal candle lighting events are held and thousands of
informal candle lightings are conducted in homes as families gather in quiet
remembrance of children who have died, but will never be forgotten.
Local bereavement groups, churches, funeral homes,
hospitals, hospices, children’s gardens, schools, cemeteries and community
centers have arranged services for all size groups. Check on the Compassionate
Friends Website for postings of where some of these are held. If there are none
in your area, you may plan one on your own open to the public and use
Compassionate Friends website to help with suggestions on planning the service.
It can be as simple as getting into a circle, lighting a candle and saying a
few prayers for those who died and perhaps one special prayer for your child
before blowing out your candle. In some locations, the names of those who died
and are attending the service are named as well as a speaker giving prayers. If
planning one for your community, let TCF know, so it can be posted so others
can attend and/or know about it. TCF also invites you to post a message in the
Remembrance Book which is available during the event at the national website.
The Worldwide Candle Lighting gives bereaved
families everywhere the opportunity to remember their child(ren) so that their lights may always shine.
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I read a fabulous idea recently about parents who
wanted to honor their daughter who died. They did this by donating children’s
books to a children’s hospital for reading and also donating grief books for
those parents to read. It has gone over very well. Children were delighted to
read or have stories read to them and parents could either read in the hospital
or take the books home to read. I would definitely encourage any parents who
want to honor their child to take up a collection
from parents who no longer need books for youngsters or to buy new books for
this worthwhile project. Contact the local children’s hospital for additional
information on how to go about doing this for them.
______________ _________________ ___________________
If you want to create a memory book for your child
who died, Kelly Gerken founded and is president of Sufficient Grace Ministries,
a non-profit organization that helps bereaved families create memory books of
their children. Kelly and husband Tim lost three of their five children to
Potter’s Syndrome in utero.
_____________ ___________________ ____________________
A support group for families who have a child
suffering from cancer is Cal’s Angels, offering hope and love. Its mission and
purpose to grant wishes, raise awareness and fund research to help kids
fighting cancer continues Cal’s legacy, according to his parents, Tom and
Stacey Sutter. Cal Sutter never gave up hope after his diagnoses of Leukemia.
He was always more concerned about the well-being of others fighting cancer
than he was about himself during his 14 month battle with the disease.
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