Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Sunday

Last year, we did something special in our church on the Sunday closest to Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day - we brought in a bouquet of yellow roses in recognition of that day and invited anyone who had experienced such a loss to take a rose home after the service. It was really simple, but we were surprised at the reaction it got and how many people told us they were touched and how much it meant to them because of losses they had experienced, even decades ago.

This year, we are trying to spread this idea, to raise awareness in churches of the presence and needs of parents with babies in Heaven and to help churches begin to bridge the gap that so often exists between them and members who have gone through pregnancy/infant loss.

We are encouraging people to invite their churches to participate in this same gesture of support of parents of babies in Heaven on the Sunday closest to PAIL Remembrance Day (so 10/14/2012 this year). You can look at the PAIL Sunday page for more information.

Whether or not you have experienced this loss, would you be willing to share this idea with your church? You can get all the information about it on the website link above. There is also a place there to "register" your church's participation so we can track how much the idea is spreading - but you don't need to register to do it. It took not even a minute of time during the service, but had such a profound impact.