Finding Closure: Reflections on the COVID Memorial Services

On Wednesday, we held two memorial services for our families to commemorate five years since the COVID pandemic shut down the world. We hoped to give these families space to grieve and celebrate their loved ones’ lives together in a way they couldn’t during the pandemic. One story was shared during our reception that struck me as the exact reason we needed to have these services:

A wife lost her husband and was able to hold his funeral with 400 attendees in February, right before everything shut down. It was wonderful that she could hold that service and have the opportunity to connect with so many loved ones, but after the shutdown, she said she missed out on grieving. There were no grief groups - support of any kind couldn’t happen in person - and the isolation compounded grief and loneliness. She talked about having crying bouts for a long time and knowing that allowing herself to cry was good and healthy. After our service, she told me that as the last note of our final song played, she felt her tears dry up. 

Grief comes in all shapes and sizes. It is a journey and can change from day to day or even hour to hour. I’m not sure that this woman will never cry again about the loss of her husband, but I feel like she was able to find closure at our service for grief that had been left unfulfilled for many years. Grief needs to be addressed- I loved that this widow was able to recognize the need to cry and allowed herself to let the tears flow as needed. But she needed her grief recognized in other ways, and we were so glad she was able to join us for our service and finally gain some peace.

Amanda