Submitted
An annual ceremony for those who have lost children will take place at 7 p.m. Tuesday, May 21, in the children’s section of Mt. Allen Cemetery. The public is invited to attend. Participants are encouraged to use the south entrance near the children’s area.
The “Avenue of Pinwheels” is for parents who have lost children, regardless of the child’s age. This includes children lost through miscarriage or stillbirth. The service is also for others impacted by a child’s death, including grandparents, aunts, uncles, siblings, friends, and teachers.
The event is sponsored each year by members of the Healing Hearts grief support group at the Center for Life Experience. Organizers emphasized that the ceremony’s purpose is to remember and honor all lost children, not just those buried at Mt. Allen.
At the ceremony, pinwheels will be available free of charge to all participants. People may place a note on their pinwheel with the child’s name and write a personal message. All of the names will be read aloud.
Then the pinwheels will be hammered into the ground by a Healing Hearts volunteer. The pinwheels will be placed in two long rows facing each other, thus creating “The Avenue of Pinwheels.” The ceremony will also include singing and prayers.
After the ceremony, participants are invited to the Center for Life Experience Office, 103C E. 27th St., for refreshments.
The pinwheels will be left up at Mt. Allen until after Memorial Day. Then members of Healing Hearts will pick them up. Organizers will laminate new pinwheels to protect them from the elements. Any damaged pinwheels will be replaced. Then the pinwheels will be safely stored until the following year. Individuals who want to keep their child’s pinwheel are welcome to do so.
The Healing Hearts grief support group began in 2001. In 2006, the group placed a marker in the cemetery’s children’s area and planted a tree. The marker reads: “In memory of our sons and daughters. As parents, we celebrate the lives of our beloved children and hold in our hearts an everlasting love for them.”
Laura Allen, the center’s executive director, said that Healing Hearts’ mission is to provide an opportunity for individuals “to connect with other parents and family members who have lost a child.” The group meets at the center’s office at 6:30 p.m. the second Thursday of each month. It is one of three grief support groups the center offers.
Healing After Loss is for those who have suffered an adult loss, such as a spouse, parent, sibling, or friend. It meets at 6:30 p.m. the third Tuesday of each month at the center.
Healing After Loss of Suicide is for those who have lost a loved one to suicide. It meets at 6:30 p.m. the first and third Wednesdays of each month at the center.
Those wishing more information about the Center for Life Experience may contact Allen at (785) 259-6959.
In case of inclement weather, the “Avenue of Pinwheels” ceremony will be rescheduled for 7 p.m. Thursday, May 23.
The center is funded by individual donors, Ellis County, the City of Ellis, the United Way of Ellis County, and the Schmidt Foundation.