Author: Mel Tindale

Buckden Open Garden

As many of you will know, Jen Forester is to be ordained at Ely Cathedral on Sunday 30 June 2024
at 10.30 am.

You are very welcome to attend the service and to join in the celebration at an
informal picnic afterwards in the gardens of St Andrew’s Vicarage, Great Staughton.

If you intend to join Jen at the picnic, please let us know by 17 June by email to
jens.ordination@icloud.com or by call or text to Sue on 07590 395987 or in writing to Jenny Forester
c/o 37 Smithfield Road, Sheffield S12 3JN.

The service will last about an hour and a half. Seating is unreserved. We advise that you aim to arrive
in time to be seated by 10.00.

If you are coming by car, please allow plenty of time to park and walk
to the Cathedral; parking is limited. Please also consider car-sharing with others you may want to sit
with during the service. Barton Road is the easiest car park to use, but it is likely to fill up quickest.
Fore Hill car park, long stay section, is an alternative but there is a steep hill to walk up to the
Cathedral. Parking is free in both car parks. Additional car parking information can be found on East
Cambridgeshire Council’s website at https://www.eastcambs.gov.uk/parking/car-parks-ely

The picnic will start at 13:30 at St Andrew’s Vicarage, Causeway, Great Staughton, Huntingdon,
Cambridgeshire PE19 5BF.

If you are able to, please bring a picnic chair with you to sit on.

On 19th November, there will be a special service held in Ely Cathedral in support of those who have lost a baby at any stage of pregnancy, at birth or in early years, and anyone who is grieving the fact that they haven’t had children.

Background

This has been arrange by Saying Goodbye, (part of the Mariposa Trust) as part of a UK and Ireland chain of events.

The Mariposa Trust’s core objective is to support people who have lost babies at any stage of pregnancy, at birth, or in infancy. It was founded in 2012, by Zoe and Andy Clark-Coates, who saw a critical lack of support for people like them, who had gone through baby loss. With over 258,000 babies being lost yearly in the UK alone, the charity needed to be able to offer not only a comprehensive package of befriending and support but also national baby loss remembrance services (called Saying Goodbye Services), for people to join together and remember the children they had lost. 5 years on, over 150 services have taken place at Cathedrals and Minsters across the UK, US, and France, and 2023 will see 21 services across England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland.

So who is the service for?

Anyone who has either personally lost a baby at any stage of pregnancy, at birth, or in early years, or who has been affected by family members’ or friends’ loss.  Whether the loss was recent or 80 years ago, everyone is welcome to attend.

Anyone who is grieving the fact that they haven’t had children will also be gladly welcome whether this is due to circumstance, infertility, or for other reasons.

Babies and children are also invited to come with their families, as the Saying Goodbye service is truly a family event for all.

Saying Goodbye Charity

To read more on the charity, please see the Saying Goodbye website, which you can find at: www.sayinggoodbye.org

Thanks to everyone who came along to Sunday’s service of celebration in honour of the King’s coronation and made the weekend one to remember