The team at St Jospeh’s Hospice are incredible. Day after day they provide genuinely compassionate, specialist palliative care for the diverse community of East London. Their care for their patience and the families of those who have been in their care does not stop there. Recognising the positive experience and the strength and support it can give by inviting all to come together to celebrate the lives of those they’ve lost, Light Up A Life, is one of the most touching events of the winter diary.
1st December St Joseph’s hosted their annual free service playing host to music and readings to help remember those who are no longer with us. All faiths and no faiths were equally welcomed. To protect their vulnerable patience, the service was hosted outside in hospice carpark. As music played, patience who were able connected with the crowd below by shining the light from their phone. This gesture was reciprocated from the gathered guests. Such a simple exchange and so heartbreakingly beautiful.  An installation of stars strung across their expansive windows is a joyous vision of love, each star hosting a dedicated note from a loved one to love lost. The evening came to a sparkling end as the Remembrance Tree was illuminated, each light representing a life of a loved one no longer with us. A vastly diverse crowd were all united in the ultimate leveller of loss and being human.