27th Annual Compassionate Friends Candlelight Service set for December 10

SIDNEY --  The Sidney Chapter of Compassionate Friends is hosting the annual Candlelight Service 6 p.m December 10. The service will be held at The Well Church, 432 20th St, Sidney.

“The Candlelight Service is an opportunity for parents, families and friends to solemnly remember children lost to death. Tears are welcome as memories are shared among people with similar experiences,” said Forrest Hershberger, co-leader of the Sidney Compassionate Friends chapter.

The evening includes a reading of the names of children being remembered, a slide show of children missed by families, music and a message by Pastor Justin Brown. Everyone is welcome, regardless if you are the parent of a child who died, a supporter of a family or just compassionate for families in the grief journey.

The event is designed as a solemn opportunity to remember loved-ones, and to be with people who may be on a similar journey. The grief journey is not easy; grief of a parent who lost his or her child has its own uniqueness. Compassionate Friends is focused on offering compassion, and support, for families who have faced the loss of a child.

For more information, contact Forrest Hershberger at [email protected], or call 970-580-8998.

The Compassionate Friends was founded in Coventry, England, in 1969, following the deaths of two young boys, Billy Henderson and Kenneth Lawley, the previous spring. Billy and Kenneth had died just three days apart in the Coventry and Warwickshire Hospital where Rev. Simon Stephens was Assistant to the Chaplain. Simon mentioned Billy's death to Iris and Joe Lawley, and the Lawleys decided to send flowers to Billy's funeral.

They signed the card simply, "Kenneth's parents," realizing that the Hendersons would know who they were. Bill and Joan Henderson then invited the Lawleys over for tea, and an immediate bond was formed as the two couples spoke freely about their boys, sharing their memories and the dreams that had died with Billy and Kenneth.

They continued to get together regularly, and young Rev. Stephens, then only 23, encouraged them to invite other newly bereaved parents to join them. In 1969, another grieving mother accepted their invitation to meet with Simon and the two couples. They decided to organize as a self-help group and actively begin reaching out to newly bereaved parents in their community. Because the word "compassionate" kept coming up, this new organization was called "The Society of the Compassionate Friends." Simon became a chaplain in the British Royal Navy in the 70's. He was met by bereaved parents at ports around the world, and he helped them to develop their own chapters.

The Compassionate Friends was incorporated in the United States as a non-profit organization in 1978.