Baystate Children’s Hospital to Hold Remembrance Service April 19

SPRINGFIELD — Families who have experienced the death of a child over the past year are invited to attend the annual Service of Remembrance held by Baystate Children’s Hospital on Sunday, April 19.

All family members and friends are invited to attend the event, which will be held at 1 p.m. at Baystate Medical Center’s Chestnut Conference Center at 759 Chestnut St., Springfield. It is also open to families with losses prior to 2014. Baystate Children’s Hospital staff will be in attendance at the event to remember and pay tribute to the children and families who were under their care.

Families are asked to respond by April 13 with the number of adults and children planning to attend the event, as well as their child’s name, if they would like it printed in the memorial-service program. Families with earlier losses are simply asked to call and register. To respond, call Marge Bloom (413) 794-5559.

“We hope that the Service of Remembrance and the reception that follows will provide a unique opportunity for a special group of families to come together to remember and honor their children,” said Bloom.

The service will include readings, music, and a ceremony of light. Families can share a photograph or other memento of their child on a ‘table of memories’ at the event. They may also choose to have their child’s name printed in the program and read aloud during the service, regardless of whether they can attend.

As part of the service, families will be given a piece of fabric which they can personalize in memory of their child before it is added, along with others, to create a memory quilt. The quilt will be displayed this September, along with other quilts created in past years, at Baystate’s annual Memorial Quilt Exhibit.

For more information on Baystate Children’s Hospital, visit www.baystatehealth.org/bch.