Service at St. Anne’s for those who have lost babies
A special service for anyone who has suffered the loss of a child will take place at St Anne’s Cathedral, Belfast on Sunday, May 28 (3.30pm).
The organisers are the Mariposa Trust, one of the UK’s leading charities whose core objective is to support people who have lost babies at any stage of pregnancy, at birth or in infancy.
The Trust was founded in 2012 by Zoe and Andy Clark–Coates, themselves bereaved parents who discovered a critical lack of support for people who had gone through the trauma of baby loss.
With over 258,000 babies being lost yearly in the UK alone, the charity needed to be able to offer not only a comprehensive package of befriending and support, but also to stage national baby loss remembrance services at which people could join together to remember the children they had lost. These are known as Saying Goodbye Services.
Four years on, there have been over 80 such services at Cathedrals and Minsters in the UK, United States and France. This year will see a further 20 taking place.
The St. Anne’s Cathedral Saying Goodbye service is for anyone who has been affected by the loss of a child. But the welcome also is extended to any who may be affected by circumstance – infertility or for other reasons.
One in four women suffers miscarriage or baby loss and as well as having a traumatic effect on them as individuals, their partners, family members and close friends also are affected.
Saying Goodbye Services are for the whole family, so those attending are invited to bring babies and children.
The Mariposa Trust’s ambassadors and advocates include The Archbishop of York, Lord Robert Winston, Nigella Lawson, Jools Oliver, Kym Marsh, Gabby Logan, J John, Mary Nightingale, Professor Lesley Regan and Julie Etchingham.
The charity’s website is www.sayinggoodbye.org.