Baystate to Hold Service of Remembrance for Families Who Have Lost a Child

SPRINGFIELD — Baystate Children’s Hospital will hold a Service of Remembrance on Sunday, March 29 for all area families who have experienced the death of a child over the past year. Families with losses prior to last year are also welcome. The service will be held at 1 p.m. in the Tivoli Room at Chez Josef in Agawam.

“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 Marjorie Bloom, co-chair of the event’s planning committee.

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

The service is open to family members and friends. Baystate Children’s Hospital staff will be present to remember and pay tribute to the children and families who were under their care.

As part of the service, families will be given a piece of fabric they can personalize in memory of their child before it is added, along with others, to create a memory quilt. The unique quilt will be displayed Oct. 3-4 during the hospital’s annual Memorial Quilt Exhibit.

Families are asked to respond by Feb. 28 with their child’s name as they would like it printed in the program, and the number of people planning to attend the event, by calling Baystate Health Link at (413) 794-2255 or (800) 377-HEALTH outside the Springfield calling area.