July 2, 2012

Cathedrals in England, Wales and Scotland are to hold services for remembrance services for people who have suffered miscarriage, early term loss or early infant loss.

The Saying Goodbye services, at such cathedrals as Llandaff in Cardiff, St Mary's Episcopal in Edinburgh, St Paul's in London and York Minster, will provide an opportunity for people to join with others who have experienced a loss.

The services are being organised free of charge by CCEM an international event management company owned by Zoe and Andy Clark-Coates.

"We want to provide a place and time for people to come together to acknowledge their loss and offer an opportunity to say a collective goodbye," said Zoe. "My husband and I have lost five babies ourselves – we want the Saying Goodbye services to help other couples to say a wonderful goodbye to their children, as every life deserves to be recognised."

In the UK, the life of a baby who dies before 24 weeks gestation is not recorded with a certificate which leaves the parent with no official recognition of the baby's life.

"We want to say our children did exist," said Zoe, "they may only have been on this earth for days, weeks or months, but they were truly loved, and will always be missed."

The Saying Goodbye website http://www.SayingGoodbye.org, reveals that approximately one in four pregnancies end in miscarriage, and it states that "many people who experience miscarriage are left reeling with little sense of how to commemorate a baby who once held all the promise of a life to be lived."

At each of the services, there is a symbolic act such as the lighting of a candle, or the placing of a butterfly on a wall of remembrance. There will be a short message of hope by senior clergy and stories from people who have suffered loss. Though there is no formal counselling provided at the services, a number of national and local counselling and support services will be represented, or will have their information present.

Services are at the following locations in 2012:

• Exeter cathedral, Exeter, Devon – Saturday 15 September, 2012 – 3pm

• St Mary's Episcopal Cathedral, Edinburgh, Scotland – Saturday 22 September, 2012 – 3pm

• York Minster, York, North Yorkshire – Saturday 29 September, 2012 – 1.30pm

• Birmingham Cathdral, Birmingham, West Midlands – Sunday 28 October, 2012 – 3.30pm

• Llandaff Cathedral, Cardiff, Wales – Saturday 3 November, 2012 – 3pm

• St Paul's Cathedral, City of London, London – Saturday 24 November, 2012 – 5pm

• Bristol Cathedral, Bristol, Gloucestershire – Saturday 8 December, 2012 – 3.30pm

Anglican Communion News Service