The Sunshine Coast Hospice Society held its annual ceremony of remembrance — Lighting the Memories — in Snickett Park in Sechelt on Jan. 1, bringing an end to the annual Lights of Life campaign.
During December, Christ-mas trees placed by the Hospice Society at numerous locations on the Coast were places for residents to remember, reflect and place notes honouring lost loved ones.
Those notes were brought out on New Year Day, where they were burned in a ceremonial fire on the beach.
“It’s to honour the memories of people we’ve lost. It’s a nice way to start the year,” said Hospice Society president, Ali Khan. “Putting the thoughts back out into the universe.”
The Sunshine Coast’s Threshold Choir sang to the assembled group of about 50 area residents before Rev. Mark Lemon began the ceremony of burning the memories.
“It’s a right of passage,” Lemon explained. “All of us experience death. To be able to come together as a community that has been fostered by the Hospice Society is a huge gift, particularly at this time of year.
“It’s a beautiful gathering where people can share and be together. It’s very healing. The experience can be very supportive.”
Part of Lemon’s prayer was a Hopi sunrise chant. Lemon sang it because of the inclusive nature of the Indigenous culture and to honour the invisible presence of those who have departed this world.
“Today is the day we celebrate the beginning of a whole new year,” he said. “It’s a time to think about our loved ones and the sunrise they’re experiencing as they journey in the invisible, the world of spirit.”
