We remember and bless them: Broadford Cemetery Trust to hold annual remembering ritual

By Contributed

Oct 18, 2023

Blessing: Captain Lauren Kirkham, Salvation Army; Rev Len Sherratt, Uniting Church; Vikram Pancel, Seventh Day Adventist; Fr Prakash Cutinha, Catholic Church; and Fr David Kerr, Anglican Church in Broadford Cemetery for Blessing of the Graves. Photo: Broadford Cemetery Trust

Each year, Broadford Cemetery Trust holds a gathering at the Broadford Cemetery in Piper St to honour the dead on All Souls’ Day, November 2.

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This year, it falls on a Thursday, with the ceremony to be held at 5.30pm.

Catholic priest Father Prakash Cutinha said this was the third year of their remembering ritual, and the attendance grew yearly.

“All are welcome, as it’s a lovely way of remembering our dead here in Broadford or wherever they are,” he said.

Included in the short service, the trust reads the names of those interred in the past year, and everyone present is invited to light a candle for those they are remembering.

Christian church members’ blessing of the graves concludes the ritual.

“Reading the names out aloud is a very meaningful way to remember people we have loved and lost as we light a candle for each,” trust chairman Paul Fleming said.

All are welcome, regardless of their faith tradition or none, and light refreshments will follow.

“The blessing is a lovely opportunity for us to come together in our common grief, especially as we lead up to Christmas time,” Uniting Church minister Rev Len Sherratt said.

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