Pregnancy and Infant Loss Month
Beloveds,
October is National Pregnancy and Infant Loss month. The Episcopal Church has special prayers and rituals for this including liturgies of lament and remembrance for the loss of children through miscarriage, stillbirth, abortion, infant death, placing for adoption, or difficulty with conception. If you would like to meet with one of your clergy and receive these rites please let us know.
Lament is the heart’s expression of grief, an essential element in our relationship with God. Throughout Scripture, God’s people pour out their grief and anguish to God who hears and comforts them in their loss. Jesus wept for the death of his friend, Lazarus; when we pour out our sorrow, Christ knows our pain and is present in our suffering, ready to walk with us through the long process of bereavement and to bring healing in the fullness of time.
Compassionate God, you hold us in your constant love. Comfort us as we grieve the loss of our children and the hopes and dreams we had for their lives. Be with us in our anguish. Grant to our children, the joys of heaven; and to each of us, bring healing and grace. Renew our hopes for the future and our faith in your goodness. We pray through Jesus Christ, who carries all our sorrows and brings us from death to new life. Amen.
With gratitude,
Dean Churchwell
