Vanderbilt hosts SHARING Memorial Service
The Office of the University Chaplain and Religious Life was happy to open the doors of Benton Chapel to a wonderful organization called SHARING of Middle Tennessee to host a Candlelight Ceremony to support parents who have experienced miscarriage, stillbirth, or early infant loss. On December 10, combined nursing staff from Vanderbilt Hospital, St. Thomas Medical Center, Centennial Hospital and more gathered together to support families who have lost a loved one too early.
Parents who experience the death of a baby often seek to validate their feelings – is what they feel normal and legitimate, or have they responded in an inappropriate manner? They often have many difficult decisions to make without previous experience to guide them. Often, the grief and loss felt by parents when a baby dies during the pregnancy or in the first few months of life is not understood and/or accepted by society. Even friends and family members sometime have difficult understanding the depth of emotion and grief bereaved parents may be experiencing. Parents are often expected to just pick up the pieces and move on. Other, who have not seen or touched the baby, do not understand that a very real member of the family has died. Often the grief and loss felt by the parents is not understood. The baby is quickly forgotten by others, leaving parents alone in their grief. The subsequent isolation may create difficulties in the expression of feelings, which can unnecessarily prolong the time of grieving. SHARING provides a strong, supportive atmosphere where members can share their experiences, thoughts, and feelings in a group. Parents learn that the deeply felt, long-lasting feelings are normal. They gain a sense of wholeness when they realize that their pain and grief is not unique, but rather is something which nearly all bereaved parents feel.
This service remembered those whom have been lost and honored their memory with a candlelight service and making of a Christmas ornament with their child’s name on it. The first of more annual services in Benton to come, SHARING helped welcome members of the community to Vanderbilt to join together in love and hope.