A memorial service to remember those who died in 2020 and 2021 has been set for 11 a.m. June 5 at Laurel Hill Cemetery in Saco. Tammy Wells Photo
SACO — The death of a loved one is very hard to bear at the best of times.
During the height of the coronavirus pandemic, losses have been exacerbated by what couldn’t happen in all the ways we’re used to. No hugs, very small, if any, immediate services, no receptions to treasure the comfort of family and friends.
Now, local clergy and others have organized a memorial service, where people can gather at the rotunda at Laurel Hill Cemetery in Saco and on the interior roadways around it, to remember and mourn those who have passed.
The service is set for 11 a.m. June 5.
“It’s been really hard and people have not able to move through the grief process,” said Rev. Beverly Lowell, minister at the United Baptist Church on Main Street in Saco. “Anyone who suffered the death of a loved one in 2020 and 2021 can come together for a simple service of remembrance. It is open to anyone of any faith, or no faith. People can come and remember a loved one and celebrate their life and be with others who have lost their loved ones.”
While the precise details are not finalized, the service will include music, readings, and prayer.
“This past year has been extraordinary and difficult in so many ways and people have talked about the things they’ve lost,” said Rev. Scott Cousineau at First Parish Congregational Church in Saco. He said families have had to adapt, and often funeral services have been small or deferred to when gathering limits were to relax.
“I’ve sat with families as they go through the list of family members and who they’re going to invite (because of limitations),” or decide to have a gathering later, said Cousineau. “These are things families have had to navigate – grieving and mourning loss and having to navigate these situations.”
Along with clergy, helping families through their grief and also deal with the practicalities involved are funeral directors.
Directors have organized livestream recording of services for those who could not attend due to space limitations, organized outdoor services that allowed greater attendance, and more, said Stacy Cote of Cote Funeral Home. One preparation he made early on, when people were reluctant to leave their homes to stop by to discuss future arrangements, was to create a preplanning guide for families, to help spell out the process.
Jim Pate, at Dennett, Craig and Pate Funeral Home, said with small, intimate family services or deferred ones, the community support so often part of a funeral service is absent. A death during the pandemic for many has meant families haven’t had a chance to have that life recognized, he said.
“A memorial service is a great idea; it’s a community idea,” said Pate.
“Funeral homes been on the front lines, trying to help people move through the death process,” noted Lowell.
As to the memorial service, Lowell said seats will be available for those unable to stand, and organizers expect attendees to arrange themselves at the rotunda and in the interior side roads nearby, be socially distant in their own groups and wear masks.
“I’m hoping it will serve a dual purpose,’ said Cousineau of the service, “A public expression of grief for someone you lost and a time to get together, as faith leaders and others, for the community to come together and say ‘look there’s other people here with me and I haven’t been alone.’ I hope we can do both — celebrate the ways we can still come together and help people celebrate and remember those we lost.”
“When one suffers a loss, it’s not only a loss for the individual, but a loss for the whole community,” said Lowell. “We’re all connected in some way. We’re a community together and we’ll remember those who have passed, and mourn together.”
Comments are not available on this story.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
