Photographic memories for grieving families
I've just learned about the organization "Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep," which provides beautiful photographs to families whose children die at or shortly after birth.Most hospitals have a way of honoring these children and creating permanent keepsakes, such as footprints, knitted caps, and baptismal certificates, for families to take home.
But nothing captures the love, grief and beauty of such deaths with the accuracy of these remarkable, sensitive portraits by volunteer photographers.
Photos like this would have meant everything to the grieving families I worked with as a hospital chaplain.
For me, the images expose raw and tender places I seldom visit these days--places connected to specific families and specific children, people I didn't realize I still carry in my heart. (If you spend time looking at the baby books on the site, I invite you to pray your way through each collection of photographs.)
Parish pastors would do well to identify the volunteer photographers in their cities and keep the names and numbers in their handheld computer or address book.
(Thanks, Linda, for leading me to the site!)
.: Posted by Duane Bidwell on Friday, March 24, 2006
Comments:
Post a Comment