Many of us will have prayed today for those who feel sad at Christmas. I want you to imagine for a moment the exquisite mixture of joy and pain felt by Christians who prepare to celebrate the birth of the Christ child, than which nothing can be more joyous, while feeling acute pain for the loss of their own child or children.
Loss at any stage is traumatic and early loss is often not acknowledged or discussed. You may have heard of the organisation ‘Saying Goodbye‘ . For the first time, a series of services of remembrance for those who have suffered miscarriage, early-term loss or early infant loss have been held since September 2012. The movement has already spread to the United States, where similar services are taking place.
Professor Lord Winston, a Saying Goodbye Ambassador commented:
“Miscarriage is often something that’s not acknowledged or talked about in the UK, and people certainly do not appreciate how utterly distressing it is for women, and indeed their extended families. It’s a loss of a precious life, and whether the loss happens in early or late pregnancy it’s traumatic, and a natural grief process must be allowed to happen. Sadly a lot of doctors and nurses see miscarriage on such a regular basis, the right support and follow up advice is just not offered, which results in the vast amount of women never coming to terms with losing their baby, and sadly they are not able to move forward with their lives as they become stuck in a cycle of grief. I am delighted to be an ambassador for a marvellous new organisation called ‘Saying Goodbye’. Following losing five babies themselves, Zoe and Andrew Clark-Coates, the directors of CCEM, decided to launch the first national set of commemorative services, which will allow families to come together to mourn their babies. I hope that these services will be a turning point in the nation, and through this new organisation miscarriage will become more widely understood, and families will know that their pain and loss has been heard and recognized.”
The services will provide an opportunity to join with others who have experienced a loss, and together we will say: our children did exist, and they may have only been on this earth for days, weeks or months, but they were truly loved, and will always be missed! They are held in Anglican cathedrals and minsters and follow an Anglican format but also include secular music, poetry and other elements. Everyone is welcome regardless of faith.
The Saying Goodbye Services will be taking place at numerous locations in 2013. Many are still being planned, but we are delighted to announce the following events:
- Manchester Cathedral – 9th March
- Durham Cathedral – 13th April
- Leicester Cathedral – 20th Apil
- Birmingham Cathedral – 21st April
- Winchester Cathedral – 11th May
- Newcastle Cathedral – 18th May
- Chichester Cathedral – 8th June
- Coventry Cathedral – 22nd June
- Canterbury Cathedral – 6th July
- Glasgow Cathedral – 21st September
- Carlisle Cathedral – 25th September
- York Minster – 28th September
- St Mary’s Episcopal Cathedral, Edinburgh – 6th October
- Peterborough Cathedral – 12th October
- Exeter Cathedral – 19th October
- Lichfield Cathedral – 9th November
- Llandaff Cathedral, Cardiff – 23rd November
- Bristol Cathedral – 7th December
‘Saying Goodbye’ launched the video at the top of this page on You Tube this morning. They hope very much that you will help them spread the word about their work. You can find them on twitter at @SayingGoodbyeUK, and on Facebook here.
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