A Christmas Memorial

The Christmas memorial message is read by Karen Murphy on behalf of The Elms Funeral Director’s in Weston Super Mare. In it she looks back at 2020 and the support given jointly by Funeral Directors and clergy of different denominational faiths to families who suffered bereavement. Special mention is given to those who suffered bereavement due to the pandemic.

“For many of us this will feel like a heavy time, filled with overwhelming sadness and emotions that are hard to bare. The way that we have experienced the death of loved ones has been very different. We cannot pretend that the year has been anything but dreadful if you have had a bereavement. Many haver been separated from family and friends, unable to arrange the kind of funeral you would want or expect, and the familiar avenues we turn to for support have been lost to us.

Now we come to Christmas, so different this year for so many different reasons, with the saddest of all being that someone dear to us is no longer by our side. Even in company, bereaved people can feel alone, and there is no easy way of facing this time of year. We have to find strength and peace in ways that will help us. People have looked to many different ways, including faith, whilst others have looked to music, painting, walking or even Zoom to connect with others.

At many funerals this year, the bereaved have said that their loved one, loved Christmas. Pain has been there in remembering these things but also joy and comfort. The year will turn and we will step over the threshold of a new beginning, making our way forward without our loved ones beside us, but we know they are not gone from our hearts and memories. They firmly stay there, planted and cherished.

We invite you to light a candle in your loved one’s memory.

~ The poem Candles at Christmas by Howard Thurman
‘I will light candles this Christmas,
Candles of joy despite all the sadness,
Candles of hope where despair keeps watch,
Candles of courage for fears ever present,
Candles of peace for tempest-tossed days,
Candles of grace to ease heavy burdens,
Candles of love to inspire all my living,
Candles that will burn all year round.’

May Hope and peace of this Christmas season fill your hearts and minds with strength and peace. As we have given thanks for our loved ones today, we will support each other with kindness as we journey forward.”

– The Elms Funeral Directors in Weston Super Mare.