ESCANABA — Candles will glow Sunday Dec. 8 when tens of thousands of bereaved parents siblings and grandparents, relatives, and friends around the globe will join together to light remembrance candles to honor the memories of children who died but will never be forgotten.

This services started in the United states in 1997 and is now thought to be the largest mass candle lighting in existence today. The first candles are lit in New Zealand at 7 p.m. and move around the globe in each time zone creating a virtual 24-hour wave of light as hundreds of thousands of people commemorate and honor children in a way that transcends ethnic, cultural, religious, and political boundaries.

Held annually the second Sunday in Dec, this 22nd annual Worldwide Candle Lighting is sponsored by The Compassionate Friends (TCF), the nations largest self-help bereavement organization for families that have suffered the tragic loss of a child. TCF has more than 660 chapters in the United States with sister organizations in at least 30 countries around the globe.

Locally the Worldwide Candle Lighting will be held on Sunday, Dec. 8 at 3 p.m. in The St. Francis Hospital Chapel, located at 3401 Ludington St., Escanaba.

The service will include special music, readings, poems, the lighting of individual candles and the reading of deceased children’s names. A sharing time and refreshments will follow the service.

The public is invited to join in lighting a candle to remember children who have died. If you cannot join us physically for this event, we ask that you light a candle in your home in memory of our children so “Their Light May Always shine.”

This event will be hosted by the Bay De Noc Chapter of Compassionate Friends. The candles are lit to honor and remember children who have died at any age from any cause. For additional information, phone Neil or Betty at 786-0411.