In this 5th anniversary year since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, Newland (Wigmore) Church on Crawley Green Road invited members of the public and different faith communities to a Memorial Service to remember all those who died of Covid-19 in Luton.
During the service, Revd Jenny Spouge introduced people to the Luton Covid Memorial frame, on which a flower each for every person who died of Covid-19 in Luton was knitted and crocheted.
She said: “First erected in November 2020, it hung on the outside of the church so that everyone could see, and one passer-by told us ‘My Dad’s on there’. Another resident who went to see it felt that one of the green flowers represented her husband with his love of gardening.”
These flowers have now been washed and re-attached to the trellis, and the renewed memorial was dedicated during the event. The church is researching a permanent and weatherproof casing, and when a suitable option and the funding have been found, it will be remounted outside the church as a lasting memorial to those we loved and lost.
Thanks to Gail Bennett and Jenny Spouge – the crafters and instigators of the Luton Covid Memorial for conceiving this idea of remembering the deceased in this beautiful way.
At the Covid Memorial Service, friends from different faiths said, “In our coming together we have stated today that they are not forgotten.”
Quoting from the Sikh eternal Guru Granth Sahib Ji, a young Sikh girl Avneet Kaur reflected, “Whoever has come shall depart; everyone has their turn to go. Life is temporary. Every soul that comes into this world must one day return to its true home. Though this truth is difficult to accept, the Guru teaches us that death is not an end—it is a transition. The body perishes, but the soul merges back into the Divine, into the eternal love of God.”
She encouraged all by saying that even after the darkest night, the sun must rise. Even after the harshest winter, spring must blossom. Let us move forward with the love of God in our hearts, with kindness in our actions, and with hope in our souls. May God bless everyone with strength, peace, and eternal hope!