Church honors memories of infants who died too soon

Osborne Baptist Church in Eden hosted a heartwarming ceremony on Saturday, Oct. 17. “A Walk to Remember: A Reflection on Loss” was a program held to honor infants who have passed away.

Marcia McQueen, a member of the Infant Loss Task Force and the director of chaplaincy services at Morehead Hospital, said this service was held to memorialize the infants families had lost, and to create a special place at Osborne Church for families to visit and remember their loved ones.

“This is a place where families can come anytime to remember and know that they’re not going through this alone,” McQueen said. “There is no grief like the loss of a child and the loss of a baby.”

During McQueen’s address to those in attendance, she reminded them to hold on to hope because they have the memories of their child and they know the strength and courage that brought them to the ceremony.

Participants were given a small stone with their infant’s name inscribed on it. They had a choice of dropping it into the ground, where it would help support the roots of a memorial tree, or saving it as a keepsake.

A stepping stone was also placed at the base of the memorial tree that had a special message from the families: “Those we have held in our arms for a little while, we hold in our hearts forever.”

Dr. Dionne Piggott, also a member of the Infant Loss Task force, said organizers hoped to raise the funds to have an annual walk to remember. She said they started meeting because these women needed additional support once they left the hospital.

“We are just a group of people trying to help these women through their difficult times,” Piggott said. “We felt inadequate that we weren’t meeting their needs, so we tried to do more for them.”

Tanya Willis, an organizer of the Heartstrings Infant Loss Support Group in Eden and a member of the Infant Loss Task Force, said the group just had its first meeting in the second week of September and plans on having meetings every fall and spring.

“It is a 12-week session and these classes are just to help parents and give them tools to incorporate this loss into their daily lives,” Willis said. “They have to figure out a way to live with the loss, because this is something that a parent never gets over.”

The group also offers a connection service for mothers who aren’t ready to go to a support group. This program connects mothers with other mothers who have gone through the loss of an infant. Willis said they are there to be a small step until they have the strength to go to a support group.

This group is an Eden chapter of the Heartstrings Infant Loss Support Group, based in Greensboro and Winston-Salem. Willis said the organization has been offering these sessions for four or five years, but this is the first group of this type in Rockingham County. If an overwhelming response is seen, Willis said meetings can be increased from two per year to three.

The Morehead Memorial Hospital Foundation has established the Angel Fund for supporting families going through infant loss. These gifts can be made in honor of individuals or for support of infant loss bereavement services.

For more information, call Tanya Willis at (336) 623-9711, ext. 2860, or for information on the Greensboro and Winston-Salem chapters, visit http://www.heartstringssupport.org.