GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (Aug. 16, 2017) – Members of the Grand Rapids community are invited to join seven local hospice organizations for We Remember: A Community Interfaith Memorial Event from 6 to 8 p.m. on Thursday, Sept.14 at Dominican Center at Marywood, located at 2025 Fulton St. E in Grand Rapids.
The annual interfaith event, sponsored by Emmanuel Hospice, Faith Hospice, Grace Hospice, Heartland Hospice, Hospice of Michigan, Kindred Hospice and Spectrum Health Hospice and Palliative Care allows those who lost a loved one to share memories and honor a special family member or friend. This free event is open to the public and all ages are welcome.
At 6 p.m., representatives from the Secular, Buddhist, Christian, Jewish and Islamic traditions will lead a one hour memorial service. Each guest is encouraged to bring a photo or other small memorabilia of their loved one to display. An American Sign Language interpreter will also be available during the interfaith service.
Various memorial activities are planned from 7 to 8 p.m. and guests can choose their level of participation, by attending one or all of the evening’s activities including:
- Planting flowers in a remembrance garden
- Taking part in a reflective nature walk, hosted by Instruments of Hope, in the St. Francis of Assisi Sculpture Garden
- Decorating and flying a kite as part of Hospice of Michigan’s annual Fly & Remember
- Remembering loved ones in front of a memorial fire
We Remember is supported by Dominican Center at Marywood, Heritage Life Story Funeral Homes, Islamic Center of West Michigan, Instruments of Hope, and the Kaufman Interfaith Institute.
For more information about We Remember, please call 616.514.3325 or visit https://dominicancenter.com/programs/we-remember-an-interfaith-memorial-service/
About the participants:
Emmanuel Hospice: Emmanuel Hospice is an interfaith collaboration of four local organizations with more than 200 years of combined experience providing quality health care services in West Michigan. St. Ann’s, Clark, Porter Hills and Sunset have joined together to deliver the highest level of holistic care to those who have reached the end of life and their loved ones wherever home is.
Dominican Center at Marywood: The Dominican Center’s mission is to foster the growth and transformation of persons, communities, and organizations through prayer, learning, and collaboration in an inclusive, hospitable environment.
Faith Hospice: The greater Grand Rapids area’s first faith-based hospice, Faith Hospice cares for approximately 1,500 patients annually through in-home hospice care services and Trillium Woods, the area’s only dedicated in-patient hospice center. Part of the Holland Home system of care, Faith Hospice focuses on providing expert and compassionate physical, emotional, and spiritual care to the loved ones and families it serves.
Grace Hospice: Grace Hospice, along with Visiting Physicians Association (VPA), Pinnacle Senior Home Care, and The Home DME are all part of the nationally recognized healthcare continuum of the U.S. Medical Management. As end-of-life care providers, our mission at Grace Hospice is for each employee to treat every patient as their own treasured loved one, providing care that affords a quality of life that outweighs quantity of days, and supports caregivers as their hearts find healing.
Heartland Hospice: Heartland Hospice first opened its doors in the greater Grand Rapids area in 1999, and is part of the HCR Manor Care family. Heartland Hospice is the third largest hospice provider in the nation and believes in providing care wherever the patient or family calls home.
Hospice of Michigan: A nationally recognized leader in end-of-life care, Hospice of Michigan is the original – and largest – hospice in the state. The nonprofit cares for nearly 1,800 patients each day, raising more than $5 million each year to cover the cost of care for the uninsured and underinsured. HOM offers a broad range of services to enhance the quality of life at the end of life, including community-based palliative care and pediatric care programs.
Instruments of Hope: Instruments of Hope is a Michigan-based not-for-profit organization dedicated to promoting peace through various artistic endeavors. Our vision is to build the St. Francis of Assisi Sculpture Garden. Visitors are able to walk and sit along meandering pathways through wooded areas and gardens. Inspired by the life of St. Francis of Assisi, the bronze statues depict him in postures of prayer, meditation, preaching and interacting with nature. The statues are placed in areas conducive to quiet reflection. The Garden is located on the grounds of the Dominican Center at Marywood, 2025 E. Fulton, Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Kindred Hospice: Kindred Hospice an affiliate of Kindred at Home is one of the nation’s largest post acute services provider in the country. When healing and curative treatments are no longer an option for individuals at end-of-life, Kindred’s hospice team provides a family oriented, interdisciplinary model of care designed to meet the emotional, spiritual, and physical needs of patients.
Kaufman Interfaith Institute: The mission of Kaufman Interfaith Institute is to promote interfaith understanding and mutual respect in West Michigan through interfaith dialogue and service we promote a vibrant and diverse community for all generations.
Spectrum Health Hospice and Palliative Care: A belief in compassionate, patient and family centered care drives our teams to excellence. We are fortunate to be well connected with the many resources of the large Spectrum Health system, yet pride ourselves in providing personal care to patients, families and healthcare partners in 11 counties. Our non-profit organization is committed to continued program development and education to better reach the changing needs of each individual community. The goal of our nurses, social workers, chaplains, aides and physicians is to honor and respect the values of each individual in every interaction.