DALLAS—Tiny stuffed animals, flowers, photos and other mementos of all-too-brief lives filled a table at the front of Penland Chapel at Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas.
Each fall, chaplains in Baylor’s pastoral care and counseling department lead a memorial service for the benefit of parents whose children died in infancy.
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Chaplain Angela Seagler (left) and Chaplain Millicent Albert (Right) participate in a remembrance service for parents who lost their children in the past year. (PHOTOS/Courtesy of Millicent Albert)
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This year, Chaplain Millicent Albert invited parents and guests to reflect on the lives of their children, encouraging them to take comfort in the knowledge those lives had purpose and meaning.
During a time of sharing, chaplains invited parents to read letters, poems or reflections on about their babies. At the conclusion of the service, each parent was his invited to speak the name of his or her child.
Each parent was given a rose to symbolize the beauty and fragility of life, along with a small keepsake showing the image of an angel holding a baby and inscribed with Psalm 91:11—“For he shall give his angels charge over you to keep you in all your ways.”
“Throughout this very special service, you could sense the depth and breadth of the love that each parent had for their baby and how priceless it was to each parent for their precious baby to be remembered and honored in this very special way,” Albert said.
“Parents expressed a great deal of appreciation for the service, sharing that they left feeling encouraged, valued and supported, knowing that their babies will continue to be remembered and honored not only by them but by everyone who has been touched by their lives.”
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