A chance for us all to say goodbye...
Cathedral to host special service of remembrance as many still struggle on with the pain of losing loved ones
WITH LEAVES falling from the trees, autumn often gives pause for reflection on the cycle of life and death and those we have lost.
Rarely has that meditation been more universally necessary than this one, as thousands mourn the people we have lost in the coronavirus pandemic.
For those who have lost a loved one, whether to Covid- 19 or other causes, grieving families have had to attend small funerals where hugs and shaking hands are forbidden.
In the midst of so much pain and hardship, Ripon Cathedral is to host a special service commemorating the people we have lost in 2020.
The Fallen Leaves service this All Saints Day ( Sunday, November 1) will honour not just those taken by Covid- 19, but by all other causes.
The service will also be a peaceful opportunity to give thanks to key workers and offer some much- needed hope for the future.
Tom Ramsden whose father, James Ramsden, a former MP for Harrogate and Secretary of State for War, died of natural causes at his home in Ripon aged 96 in late March, days after the start of the national lockdown.
Mr Ramsden’s family said their goodbyes in a small service, each separated by two metres.
“My father would have had his 97th birthday on the day of the service so it will be a poignant time for our family,” said Mr Ramsden, ahead of Sunday’s service.
“He died not from the coronavirus but peacefully in his sleep. The lockdown, however, meant that we had to have a very small funeral and my sister in South Africa was unable to attend.
“After a death there is normally a gathering of the clans as there was after my mother died in November, but the effect of the virus was to leave my brother, Ashley, and me very much in limbo, as it has done to so many bereaved people.”
Mr Ramsden added: “I have a good friend who lost his mother to the virus. She was in a care home and he, like many others, was unable to see her.
“That is why I think this service is so important. It will be a gathering of people who have lost loved ones, some of whom will not have been able to commemorate their lives properly. “It will be a moment to reflect upon the new ways we are using to comfort one another and to deal with grief and bereavement.
It is a time to pray not only for journeying souls but also for all those affected by family loss during the past 12 months.”
Canon Ailsa Newby, who has organised the service, said: “There is a profound mystery in the cycle of life, death and new life. In the beauty of the cathedral, which over the centuries has seen so much grief, we’ll take a little time to ponder this mystery as we contemplate the dead leaves of autumn and leave with dormant spring bulbs, full of new life and hope.”
Sunday’s service will start at 3.30pm and will include music, readings and meditative prayer.
There is a profound mystery in the cycle of life, death and new life. Canon Ailsa Newby, Ripon Cathedral.
AS WE approach the end of the year, it is fitting that thoughts turn to those who have been lost over its turbulent course, especially the tens of thousands who were victims of the pandemic.
Ripon Cathedral’s Fallen Leaves service on Sunday provides the opportunity to do just that for at least some of the families who have lost their loved ones, but who were prevented from attending funerals as a result of restrictions on gatherings.
The service is a reminder of how mourning together is so often an essential part of the healing process after bereavement.
It is also a reminder of how important it remains for so many to gather in a place of worship to either say their farewells or to give thanks for a life.
Sadly, there have been many tears of loss shed across the country over the course of this year.
Ripon’s service this coming weekend will underline how much comfort is to be gained from sharing grief.