St Clare Hospice will host its annual Light Up a Life services this year on Thursday 11th December at 7pm and Saturday 13th December at 4pm, both taking place at the hospice in Hastingwood.

Light up a Life offers an opportunity to reflect on the lives of loved ones who are no longer with us and celebrate the memories that live on.

The remembrance services will feature music from The Salvation Army and a local choir, alongside seasonal readings and refreshments. After the service, guests are invited to explore festive stalls in the hospice dining room, where they can pick up early Christmas gifts.

For the Saturday 13th service, families with young children are encouraged to arrive early for a creative arts and crafts session at 2.30pm, hosted by the hospice’s Patient and Family Support Team. This informal activity offers children a chance to make something meaningful in memory of the person they are remembering and has the option to feature in an interactive poem read for children during the service.

Holly Roberson will be among those attending Light up a Life this year in memory of her beloved husband, and devoted father to their three children, Harry (age 32).

She reflected: ‘It’s been almost a year and a half since my brave husband Harry died, and I think about him every day. I couldn’t have asked for a better husband or father to our girls. When we found out he had just a few months to live, he’d often tell me he didn’t want to be forgotten, especially by our three beautiful children. The girls are still young, but they’ll always remember their amazing daddy. Just like I will. That’s why we’ll be dedicating a star to Harry at this year’s Light up a Life with St Clare Hospice.’

Holly went on to share how St Clare Hospice helped them find comfort, dignity, and precious time together during the most difficult moments of their lives: ‘When we found out Harry had stage 4 pancreatic cancer and wasn’t going to get better, our youngest wasn’t yet at school. So, she was with him all the time. Honestly, daddy was her best friend. She was always by his side in the months I took care of him at home.

I did everything I could to help Harry stay at home, but his pain became too much for him. That’s when St Clare Hospice stepped in. The nurses were amazing – they took Harry in for a short stay to get his pain under control and showed me how to manage his medication so we could have more time together at home.

The nurses made Harry’s room feel so homely – they even hung pictures on the walls. And the girls made artwork for their daddy and put it around the room with some of their teddies. There was a bed for me in the room too, so I could stay close.

Everyone was so caring. They thought of everything to make sure Harry and I could be together day and night in those final weeks.

What stayed with me was how the nurses looked after all of us – not just Harry, but me and the girls too. The hospice gave us time together, space to be a family, and the kind of care you don’t get anywhere else.’

Light Up a Life is open to everyone, regardless of faith or whether they or a loved one has received care from St Clare Hospice.

Additional Light Up a Life services will be held across West Essex throughout November and December, offering more opportunities to attend a remembrance event close to home.

Services will take place in:
Loughton, Saffron Walden, Great Dunmow, Stansted, Waltham Abbey, Hatfield Heath, and Ongar.

stclarehospice.org.uk/light.For more information about attending a Light up a Life service, or to make a dedication in memory of someone you love, visit stclarehospice.org.uk/light.

Alternatively, you can email [email protected] or call 01279 773750 for more information.