Gwinnett Chapter of Compassionate Friends

The Gwinnett Chapter will have a candle lighting ceremony at the beginning of our December 16 meeting.  We will NOT be meeting at the First Baptist Church of Lawrenceville since their fellowship hall is unavailable that evening.   Please join us at 7:30 pm at The First United Methodist Church of Lawrenceville, 395 West Crogran Street, Lawrenceville (corner of Hwy 29 and Langley Drive, the intersection near the Gwinnett Justice & Administration Center).  The Methodist Church is the big church on the corner with plenty of parking - you can't miss it!   Please bring a snack, a photograph of your child/sibling/grandchild and/or his or her favorite ornament or decoration for our holiday table.  After the candlelighting, we will have our sharing groups.

 

Worldwide Candlelighting Planned for Gwinnett - Sunday, December 12th,  7:00 pm

Also, as an alternative location to Centennial Park in downtown Atlanta on December 12, National Children's Memorial Day, members of the Gwinnett Chapter will be meeting at Rhodes Jordan Park in Lawrenceville at the Children's Memorial Garden at 7:00 pm for an hour of candlelighting and friendship.  This is a very informal and casual gathering.   Please bring your own thermos (depending on chill factor!) and candle.  Music will be played and if you would like to read a special poem, please feel free to share.  This gathering will be held weather permitting.  Please bring a friend or family member or call one of your TCF friends.

If you have any questions about the December meeting or National Children's Memorial Day, please call Meg Avery 770-932-5862 or email MemoriesR4Ever@hotmail.com
 

As we light these five candles in honor of you, we light one for our GRIEF, one for our COURAGE,
one for our MEMORIES, one for our LOVE and one for HOPE.

This candle represents our GRIEF. The pain of losing you is intense.
It reminds us of the depth of our love for you.  "Our joy and our sorrow are inseparable."

This candle represents our COURAGE - to confront our sorrow -  to comfort each other - to change our lives.  "Even like a chain we are as  weak as our weakest link. This is but half the truth.
We are also as strong as our strongest link."

This light is in your MEMORY - the times we laughed, the times
we cried, the times we were angry with each other - the silly things you did, the caring and joy you gave us. This light is also for the memories that never were. Even though our memories can bring pain, in time we will look upon our memories of you as yesterday's gifts to the heart.

This light is the light of LOVE. As we enter the holiday season day by day, we cherish the special place in our hearts that will always be reserved for you. We thank you for the gift of your love. We thank  you for the joy your living brought to each of us.

This candle is the light of HOPE. It reminds us of love, and memories of you that are ours forever. May the glow of the flame be our source of hopefulness now and forever. We love you.

Children's Memorial Garden
Gwinnett Chapter of The Compassionate Friends
Rhoades Jordan Park, Lawrenceville, GA

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