The Church of Ireland Diocese of Connor

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Remembering loved ones with ‘Waterbugs and Dragonflies’

Wednesday November 2nd 2022

Carnmoney Parish Church held a special Memorial Service on Sunday, with the theme of ‘Waterbugs and Dragonflies.’

The parish aspires to hold a Memorial Service annually on the Sunday closest to All Souls’ Day, but this has not been possible over the past two years due to Covid-19.

Everyone who has held a funeral in the parish since March 2020 was invited to come back to church and remember their loved one.

The vicar, the Rev Andy Heber, said: “There were many restrictions during this time and many families had a very bad experience as a result.

“We held a simple service based around the theme ‘Waterbugs and Dragonflies,’ a children’s story by Doris Stickley. Part of the service was reading out the names of those who had died and those who congregational members wanted to remember. This included the list from our funeral register, but people also asked for others to be remembered.”

Andy continued: “We had created a lily pond which sat on our communion table and, after the names were read, people were invited to come forward a place a butterfly on a stick over the pond.” An oasis under the surface kept the rods in place, so the butterflies appeared to fly.

“We had 70 people attend altogether, most of whom hadn’t been to church since the funeral of their loved one,” Andy said, adding that many people said afterwards that the service had been helpful in their grief journey.

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