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December 10, 2023

memorial-wall-btnWorldwide Candle Lighting Memorial Service

The Compassionate Friends Worldwide Candle Lighting on the 2nd Sunday in December unites family and friends around the globe in lighting candles for one hour to honor the memories of the sons, daughters, brothers, sisters, and grandchildren who left too soon. As candles are lit on December 10th, 2023 at 7:00 pm local time, hundreds of thousands of people commemorate and honor the memory of all children gone too soon.

Now believed to be the largest mass candle lighting on the globe, the annual Worldwide Candle Lighting (WCL), a gift to the bereavement community from The Compassionate Friends, creates a virtual 24-hour wave of light as it moves from time zone to time zone. TCF’s WCL started in the United States in 1997 as a small internet observance and has since swelled in numbers as word has spread throughout the world of the remembrance. Hundreds of formal candle lighting events are held, and thousands of informal candle lightings are conducted in homes, as families gather in quiet remembrance of children who have died and will never be forgotten.

Add a Candle Lighting Program

IMPORTANT: If you attempt to submit your candle lighting service and we do not contact you or your service is not listed within 48 hours, please contact kathiek@compassionatefriends.org.

We also will be holding a virtual candle lighting for those who would prefer to attend virtually. We will have four programs in the
Eastern, Central, Mountain and Pacific time zones.

Register below for your time zone.

Virtual Worldwide Candle Lighting

Every year you are invited to post a message in the Remembrance Book which will be available, during the event, at TCF’s national website. The Remembrance Book will be open to post a message Thursday, December 1st, through Friday, December 16th. Photos can be posted on our Worldwide Candle Lighting Facebook page.

The Compassionate Friends and allied organizations are joined by local bereavement groups, churches, funeral homes, hospitals, hospices, children’s gardens, schools, cemeteries, and community centers. Services have ranged in size from just a few people to nearly a thousand.

Click on your state below to view Worldwide Candle Lighting events in your area.

View International Countries
If you do not see a candle lighting program in your area, contact your local chapter to see if they are planning a program. Find a chapter.

Minnesota

Owatonna

Owatonna Area Chapter of TCF

Date & Time:
December 11, 2023 - 7 PM
Location:

St. Joseph Church
512 S. Elm Ave
Owatonna, MN
USA

Highlights:

Speaker
Slide show
Candle lighting for children. grandchildren, and siblings.

Bring:

Pictures
Refreshments

Special Events (before):

Special music

Special Events (after):

Snacks & Sharing

Contact:
Joan Spindler
Telephone:
507-676-0651
Email:
joanspindler47@gmail.com

Maplewood

St. Paul Chapter

Date & Time:
December 10, 2023 - 6:30 PM
Location:

Beaver Lake Lutheran Church; 2280 Stillwater Ave; Maplewood, MN/USA – Though the program is held in the sanctuary of a church, the program is not religious.

Highlights:

Live music by Dan Westmoreland on the guitar, and his accompanists on the flute and piano. Dan has played for us several times. There will be chosen readers for poems and readings, the 5-Candle Reading, and during part of the program a PowerPoint Presentation of chapter members’ children, siblings, and/or grandchildren who have died.

A photo button can be made (one per person) for anyone who has not had one made before – bring a photocopy of the photo on white regular paper of a copy taken at Office Max or Office Depot, FedEx, etc. for a 3″ photo button. Do not cut the picture out but bring the entire full page of paper with the photocopy of the picture on it. Do Not make the copy on cardstock or try to use the original, it will not work for the photo button.

Bring:

You can bring an 8″ x 10″ or smaller photo (framed so it will stand up for everyone to see it better) that you can set on the designated long table(s) in the Education Room at Beaver Lake Lutheran Church.

Special Events (after):

We will have light refreshments, coffee and water. If you feel able to do so, we are asking those who come to bring something to share ~ snacks, goodies, baked items, and appetizer (nothing that needs heating, please) ~ but only if you are able to do so. Some people decide to bring their children, grandchildren, and siblings’ favorite goodies and place by their framed picture so they can share their favorite treat alongside their picture, so we know a little more about them.

Contact:
Cathy and Joannie
Telephone:
612-991-9954 (Cathy S) and 651-483-1534 (Joannie K)
Email:
cathy@compassionatefriends.org
Additional:

If an attendee wishes to wear a face mask, they are welcome to do so. Please bring your own if you need one.

New Ulm

TCF South Central MN

Date & Time:
December 10, 2023 - 7pm
Location:

Join us for our annual Candle Lighting and potluck at 6:00 PM, at Redeemer Lutheran Church, 700 S. Broadway St., New Ulm, MN. Bring a side dish to share. Candle Lighting begins at 7 PM. We will read poems, share insight, and remember our loved ones together as we light a candle to honor their memory. *Inclement weather will move the Candle Lighting solely to Zoom. * (Email us at tcfsouthcentralmn@gmail.com for the Zoom link.)

Highlights:

Potluck at 6 PM
Slideshow of your loved one.
Remembrance craft.
Photo button making.
Live instrumental music.
Reading of poems, sharing of insights, and remembering our loved ones together.

Bring:

Pictures for photo button if you would like one. (No cost.) *Please make sure it is a COPY and not an original.* Bring photo to display on table, if you would like. Bring a side dish to share for the potluck. Bring your own candle if you wish.

Special Events (before):

Potluck at 6 PM with time to make a remembrance craft (TBD).

Contact:
Angie Cherney
Telephone:
5073867535
Email:
tiggerandbug@gmail.com
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