Since opening the new Hospice in 2007, our marvellous building has presented us with lots of exciting opportunities to develop various aspects of our work.
Our Chaplain, The Rev'd Liz Hughes, has felt for some time a need to provide a more personal Service of Thanksgiving and Remembrance to allow our bereaved friends and relatives a chance to reflect upon and commemorate their loved ones. With the new Chapel, opening the sliding doors into the patient Dining area provides a comfortable space for up to 35 people.
We now extend invitations to families and friends around the first anniversary of the bereavement. These services have been well attended, and have proved a need for people to come back to the Hospice to mark this very important and often emotive time.
I didn’t know how I was going to cope with the first anniversary of his death, and I was dreading it – but then I received the invitation to go to a service in the Hospice, and I just knew that that would be the right place for me and my family to come and remember him.
The services take place monthly, usually on the first Tuesday of the month at 6 pm, and last about half an hour. They are followed by refreshments in the Bistro. There are members of the Supportive Care Team’s bereavement volunteers on hand to meet and greet visitors, help with the service and talk to people over the refreshments.
All of the feedback so far has been very positive – people have enjoyed the mix of music and readings, and all seem to have found something helpful within the service.