Susan Conway, Interim Executive Director

Miriam Cristobal, Field Team RN Case Manager

When you remember me, it means that you have carried something of who I am with you, that I have left some mark of who I am on who you are. It means that you can summon me back to your mind, even though countless years and miles may stand between us. It means that if we meet again, you will know me. It means that even after I die, you can still see my face and hear my voice and speak to me in your heart.
—Theologian Frederick Buechne

The Grief Candle
Anita Jenkins, Unit Coordinator

We light a candle to honor this sacred time of mourning as we grieve the loss of our loved ones.
We acknowledge that the intensity of our grief and suffering represents the depth of our love and that our tears are a testament to the special relationship we shared.
We pray for faith and courage to face dark days when we feel frightened and alone and for the friendship of others to help bear our burden of grief.
We are thankful for the opportunity to gather with others who are also broken hearted and understand our sorrow.

James Vivenzio, Hospice Board Director

We light a candle to celebrate the memories of our loved ones that will always remain in our hearts.
We give thanks for their lives and remember their laughter, smiles, and kindness, the happy times we shared, and our struggles and regrets.
We reflect on the many ways that our loved ones helped shape our lives and bring out the best in us, and the qualities that made them special and unique.
We treasure the gift of having shared our lives with them, and we will always cherish their legacies of love that endure.

Rev. Marcia Cochran, Hospice Board Vice Chair

We light this candle to acknowledge that peace can be ours despite pain and loss.
We light this candle to represent the light of peace.
We pray for peace in the midst of this holiday season, especially when we feel frustrated or resentful that those around us may not understand our grief.
We give ourselves permission to seek rest and quiet reflection and allow our wounded hearts to experience the pain of our loss.
We open our heart and spirits to receive the peace that passes all understanding.

Patricia Burns, Volunteer Coordinator

We light this candle to kindle hope for days of healing still to come. We light this candle to represent the light of hope. We are transformed by our loss and now walk an unfamiliar road, but we are surrounded by love and grace, and we are not alone. We allow the promise of hope to take root within us – hope for solace in our moments of despair, healing of our hearts and souls, trust in God’s goodness and faithfulness, and hope for our future.

Melisa Haddix, Home Hospice Social Worker

We light this candle to give thanks for love, which carries us along in its embrace. We light this candle to represent the light of love.
We are grateful for the capacity to love and the blessing of having been loved. We are thankful that love endures, even after death, and that our connection to our loved ones and the memories we shared will always be safe in our hearts. We will strive to love others fully and to serve as a light to them as our loved ones shared their lights with us.

(Responsive Reading)
Jevita Cochran, Housekeeping Supervisor
Chelsey Atkinson, Housekeeper

Leader: Tonight, we gather as a community to acknowledge our bereavement and remember and celebrate the lives of our loved ones.
People: We light a candle to honor our grief and give thanks for the lives of our loved ones. May this light guide us forward toward healing and peace.
Leader: We acknowledge the power in this holy act of remembrance and honor the ones we have lost by sharing their light, as well as our own, with others and the world.
People: “The light shines in the darkness and the darkness shall not overcome it.” Thanks be to God for their light.

Father Tom Purdy, Hospice Board Chair

BLESSING

Nothing can separate us from the love of God or the love of those we have lost. The lights of their lives; the lights of this night burn always despite the darkness, chasing shadow and grief away. As we go our separate ways we carry this light with us, into the world, to share it with others as it was first shared with us. May we all know grace, hope, peace, and blessing this night and always.