Remember loved ones at Light Up A Life events

The festive season can often be the most difficult time of year for people grieving over the death of family and friends.

So St Barnabas Hospice is inviting members of the local community to remember those they will never forget at their annual Light Up A Life celebration.

The Gainsborough event will be held at the United Reformed Church on Gladstone Street on Tuesday, December 4 (6.30 pm), while ohers will be staged in Boston, Sleaford, Lincoln, Spalding, Skegness, Louth, Sutton and Grantham.

Each event, lasting just over an hour, will feature touching readings, music and a quiet time for reflection, while candles will also be lit in remembrance. They are free to attend and are open to people of all faiths.

The celebration in Lincoln will also include a torchlight procession, involving hundreds of people, through the city to the cathedral where a Tree Of Life stands.

Karen Lee, MP for Lincoln, has been a big supporter of the Light Up A Life celebrations since she lost her friend, Denise, to bowel cancer after she had spent time being cared for by St Barnabas Hospice. Her daughter, Lindsay, also died of breast cancer.

Karen said: “It will always be upsetting to remember loved ones, but St Barnabas has enabled such a positive way in which we can do that. It keeps them alive in your heart.

“If I was to dedicate a light on the Tree Of Life at Lincoln Cathedral, it would mean a lot to me. I like the idea that the tree is a living thing and would help keep memories alive.”