2026 HOLIDAY SERVICE OF HOPE AND REMEMBRANCE

2026 HOLIDAY SERVICE OF

HOPE AND REMEMBRANCE

After sharing a service with Edenton Street United Methodist Church last year, we will hold our own Holiday Service of Hope and Remembrance this year. It will take place on Thursday, November 19, at 7pm in our sanctuary. We will read texts of assurance and pray for all dealing with loss; Music Made in Heaven will play, and we will remember loved ones we have lost, gathering near the front of the sanctuary and lighting candles in memory of these loved ones. Everyone is invited to attend whether you are in need of healing or willing to offer support to others, and it is fine to invite friends who have known loss. Below, Denise Aslett reflects on the impact this service had on her journey with loss, grief, and faith.

__________________________________

The last three years have ushered in quite a few life-altering changes for me – difficult changes. Changes that made me question my faith and my identity. Changes that have seemed impossible to deal with.

After enduring some challenging health problems, both of my parents died in 2023. As an only child, I was close to them, and the loss of them was deeply painful. During that time, my husband of nearly 40 years was battling cancer. And in August of 2023, we moved out of our two-story home of 27 years into a new single-story house. Soon after we settled in, his cancer progressed rapidly and he died under hospice care in April 2024. All of this happened while I was working full-time. Then in June 2025, I was forced to take early retirement and leave my job as a research scientist because of all the harsh changes being made in federal agencies. And while I was still experiencing intense anger over that situation, my beloved golden retriever died in August 2025. Now I look back over these events and wonder how I made it through such acute heartbreak. I really cannot put an explanation into words.

Knowing of some of these hardships and losses, my high school friend, Lynn Marshbanks, invited me to attend the 2024 Service of Hope and Remembrance at First Baptist Church. Lynn explained that it was a service designed to remember and celebrate lost loved ones. I remember being amazed at the number of people there. We heard a loving tribute one speaker did for her daughter who was tragically killed when she was a child. How in the world do you survive losing a child? Yet here was this wonderful and brave woman telling us her story. And we heard a performance by Music Made in Heaven, a beautiful handbell ensemble which features handbells that are each engraved with the name of a lost child. At the end of the service, we were all invited to light a candle and say the names of our loved ones. As hard as it was, it was also beautiful and very meaningful.

Grief can be such a solitary journey, and for me, it would have been very easy to give in to bitterness and fall into a permanent sadness. But when I left the service that night, I had the feeling that First Baptist was a church community willing to embrace people as they navigate the hardships of their lives. So, I started attending Sunday morning worship. Slowly, I found opportunities for service with outreach ministries such as White Flag, Meals on Wheels, Raleigh Police Department luncheons, Toy Joy, and the Prayer Shawl ministry. Suddenly I had new friends and a multitude of avenues for finding joy. Eventually, I joined the Thirty-Niners group and the Pathfinders Sunday School class. And I have reached a point in the grief process where I can share stories about my husband, Harry, and feel more gratitude than sadness. Everyone who met him liked him immediately. He had an easy-going nature, a quick smile, and a charm that made people laugh and feel appreciated. He would have loved the people at First Baptist.

I am very grateful to have landed at First Baptist Church. I am grateful for all the times people like Jane Kelley and others moved from their regular seats to sit beside me when I was new to the church. And I am especially grateful for all the times people like Jonathan Kelley, the Thirty-Niners, the Pathfinders, and many others said: “We’re so glad you are here.” What people often perceive as a routine and perhaps insignificant kindness can be a lifeline. It certainly was for me.

As we prepare for the 2026 Service of Hope and Remembrance, I encourage you to attend. Share the names and stories of your lost loved ones, and let us help you celebrate them. - Denise Aslett