SHARE Remembrance Service to welcome families grieving perinatal loss

The SHARE Groups of Edward-Elmhurst Health will host a holiday remembrance service at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 6, at Our Saviour's Lutheran Church in Naperville. The group provides support for individuals and families who have experienced a miscarriage, ectopic pregnancy, stillbirth or neonatal loss.

The service, which is returning in person for the first time since 2019, "provides a space for families to celebrate and honor the babies that they don't have in their arms," said Sue Villa, perinatal bereavement coordinator for Edward-Elmhurst Health.

"Holidays are a really hard time for loss families," Villa said. "And for those people who had a loss during the pandemic, they were isolated not only due to their loss but also because of the pandemic. Loss is a very lonely place, so providing a space to honor, celebrate and breathe or to mourn the loss of your baby is so important."

The service welcomes all families who have experienced perinatal loss, whether their loss was recent or occurred decades ago.

"One parent told me years ago that she felt like having this tradition always keeps her daughter a part of their family, and that it's so important to her and to her living children that they have this space to devote to her," Villa said.

Our Saviour's Lutheran Church, adjacent to Edward Hospital, is the longtime host of the holiday remembrance service, and the church's Women's Chorale will return to perform.

The service will include a reading of babies' names, a blessing from Edward Hospital's chaplain and reflections from SHARE families.

Attendees also will have the opportunity to place an ornament that they have brought from home in honor of those they grieve on a remembrance tree, which will be placed near the south lobby of Edward Hospital in Naperville following the service. Refreshments will be served after the service.

"There's almost something magical about the environment, with the chorus singing and the candles flickering," said Villa. "Families who have attended for the first time will say, 'I didn't know what to do last year, but now I know what I'm going to do going forward.'"

Our Saviour's Lutheran Church is located at 815 S. Washington St. in Naperville. For more information, visit oursaviours.com.

All local families, regardless of whether they are currently part of an Edward-Elmhurst Health SHARE group, are invited to attend.