While living in New York, my husband was attending seminary at St Vladimir’s Orthodox Seminary and during a chilly evening in October, the seminary hosted a special prayer service for those who lost a child (or children) due to miscarriage, stillbirth and infant loss. While standing in the nave hearing the prayers and hymns sung, I had tears pouring down my face. It was the first time that my precious child who died in my womb was prayed for and acknowledged publicly. I looked around the room and I was surprised by how many were in attendance. Afterwards, we all shared many hugs and tears. It was such a healing experience, not only to have our losses acknowledged, but also to share our grief with one another who also lost babies. It was a profound experience I can hardly explain.

Having attended this prayer service, I knew that we needed to bring this tradition to our current parish. This past year we hosted our first Pregnancy and Infant Loss Prayer Service. It was a wonderful evening, and I can’t wait to tell you more about it. The purpose of this blogpost is to share how we planned this event and to provide resources for your parish to host one!