MULTI coloured ribbons to represent each deceased person being tied to a fence. Photos by Tom Godfrey.
Mothers, fathers, sisters or brothers were among the 65 area residents who were lost by their loved ones to COVID-19 and remembered at a community gathering at St. Margaret Anglican Church in New Toronto.
The loved ones gathered on the lawn of the Sixth Street church to reminisce, pray and pay tribute to friends and family lost from the pandemic, when only a handful of mourners were allowed to say their good byes.
Heather Medhurst of Lakeshore Lodge reads some of the names of the 65 deceased as Rev. Jacqueline Daley of St. Margaret (sitting) looks on.
“There are many other community members who died that we do not know about yet,” said Rev. Jacqueline Daley, of St. Margaret. “They will be missed by their loved ones and friends.”
She said her church lost members of their congregation to the pandemic.
“We have navigated quite a year, one that has robbed us of many things but most dearly our loved ones,” Daley told mourners.
The gathering was held on October 23 at the church, which is more than a century old. It was organized by The Dorothy Ley Hospice, Lakeshore Arts, LAMP, St.Margaret and Ridley Funeral Home.
CHILDREN were paying attention to what was being said at the gathering.
Candles were lit by a number of area faith leaders as the names of the deceased were read aloud during the hour-long gathering.
Dipti Purbhoo, of Dorothy Ley Hospice, said her staff helps residents ‘with their grieving and loss.’
“We see an increase of people coming in to see us,” Purbhoo said. “There is more of a demand now for grief and loss.”
Indigenous singers and drummers Page and Sara sang tunes about loss and going home.
Heather Medhurst, a spiritual advisor at Lakeshore Lodge, told mourners it is never ‘too late to grieve.’
“There are so many things that we have lost this year,” she said. “It is never to late to mourn your loss.”
Indigenous activist Julie Penasse reminded residents that the bodies of more than 7,600 native children have been discovered in shallow graves across Canada.
“These kids do not have a name,” she admitted. “They were buried by the dozens in unmarked graves. Nobody know who they are.”
Penasse said members of her family were sent to residential schools and returned home in bad shape.
“They came home and they were traumatized,” she recalled. “They were not the same.”’
There was a moment of silence held to pay tribute to the dead.
Ribbons of many colours were tied to a fence in front of the church to remember the 65 deceased.
If you know of others who have died from the pandemic contact Rev. Daley at 647-766-7794 or email priest-stmargaretnewtoronto@toronto.anglican.ca