Hospice remembers

The photo above shows people greeting one another at the conclusion of the Hopsice of the Golden Isles' annual memorial service held yesterday at King of Peace. What a rare opportunity for the family and friends to have an occasion other than the funeral itself in which they could acknowledge their grief. Too often we expect persons who have experienced a death to work through their grief within the first week and then move on with life. This is not only unrealistic, but can be unintentionally cruel. Real grief remains. Thankfully, it does change over time. Yet the grief never compeletely goes away. We need to make time and space to allow ourselves and others the room to grieve, so that an unendurable grief can become a sorrow we can bear.

During the service, names of persons who died were called out by Hospice Executive Director Julie Baker and family members and friends come forward to place, in honor of their loved one, an angel on a Christmas tree. The service also included scripture readings, prayers, and a sermon by me. Beth from St. Mark's Episcopal Church in Brunswick played the flute and our own Freddie Esparagoza (pictured at right) sang three moving solos. It was a beautiful and meaningful way for not only the families and friends, but also the staff and volunteers to remember those with whom they journeyed this past year.

The memorial service fits within Hospice's mission of not only providing the physical, emotional and spiritual comfort people need in the final stages of life, but also to provide ongoing grief support for family members. You can find out more about out local group at the Hospice of the Golden Isles website.

peace,
Frank+
The Rev. Frank Logue, Pastor + King of Peace Episcopal Church