Lighting candles for hope

In grief, in celebration, in struggle,
in fleeting moments of peace: we gather forever,
not as a people helpless and afraid,
not as a people victorious and proud, but as a people,
pulled by the Spirit to live lives of love and compassion.
“Tonight is not a fundraiser. It’s a celebration of the lives of those who survived cancer and those who have loved and lost.”
With those words, cancer survivor Todd Hamilton opened the third-annual interdemoninational candlelight service, organized by the local Canadian Cancer Society, that once again drew almost 200 people to Knox United Church here Sunday evening.
While the evening was a time for contemplation, some of those on hand freely shared their thoughts.
“This is the first time I’ve gone to it,” said Rick Chamber, whose daughter, Rebecca, a 16-year-old who survived an endodermal sinus tumor diagnosed at age two, was a guest of honour.
“It’s an important event. You realize cancer can be beaten. A lot of people don’t realize that it takes great strength to get through it,” he noted.
“And an event like this shows people can come together to recognize this,” he added.
Likewise, 16-year-old Michael Sovereign of here, who is undergoing chemotherapy for Ewing sarcoma, was glad he came. “I think it’s a really important event. And the number of people is impressive,” he said.
After several songs from a young choir, led by Rita Moorhouse and accompanied by Marnie Dutton, and a solo by Danette MacDonald, guest speaker Jack Cameron gave a sermon, “I Believe.”
“I often wondered what Terry Fox thought and dreamed of during his trek across Canada,” he remarked. “Through the rain and the cold, did he know he would inspire so many to follow his example?”
This year’s “Ritual of Remembrance” featured seven guests–Chambers, Sovereign, Judy Carter, Sue Danku, Teresa Hazel, Carol-Leah Laing, and Paul Cousineau–light seven candles, each dedicated to a different aspect of contemplation.
Chambers lit the “Candle of Joy” while Sovereign did the “Candle of Love,” Carter the “Candle of Life,” and Danku the “Candle of Community.”
And Hazel, Laing and Cousineau lit the candles of “the mystery of life and death,” “thanksgiving,” and “giving” respectively.
Each person preceded their candle-lighting with a verse.
Afterwards, the public was encouraged to come to the front of the church and light a candle of their own for several minutes of individual contemplation as the choir sang.