Right after Waylon died, we received his "Certificate of Stillbirth" and I remember thinking....wow I never expected to see one of these in my lifetime. I never even knew they existed prior to Waylon. I was heartbroken just thinking how one little sheet of paper could bring even more devastation, but it did. I knew right then that I had to do more, I had to put Waylon's name out there in every way I could possibly think to do. His existence meant more to our family than just a measely sheet of paper. So I looked and found this idea on another blog, I don't remember which one now, I should have wrote it down but it was,
www.innocents.com/shrine.asp a link to The Chruch Of The Holy Innocents. Basically, this church has a shrine that is dedicated to babies who died before they were born. (miscarriages and stillbirth) They inscribe the babies names into a "Book of Life" that rests between 2 statues inside the church. I loved that Waylon's name could reach all the way to New York and that people there who didn't even know him or us would know that he existed in this world. I am bound and determined to help his legacy live on, and this was one way to contribute to that. I received an email from the Shrine Director after I sent my request, this is what he sent me: Dear Jennifer,
Thank you for visiting our shrine to the unborn. I feel greatly sorry
for your loss and pray that the good Lord gives you more courage and
strength. You have someone close with God who prays for you, and an
angel who watches over you. I have enshrined your child's name in the
Book of Life. I am the pastor at Holy Innocents and I consider it a
privilege to take care of the Shrine ministry, which is very close to
my heart. Please give me your suggestions to improve this all
important ministry. May the good Lord bless you with peace and health.
If I can be of any other assistance, please don’t hesitate to let me
know.
With every good wish for God’s Blessings on you and your loved ones.
In Christ the Lord,
Fr. Thomas Kallumady Sorry about the format on this, my stupid missing enter key is driving me bonkers!! I loved receiving this from the Pastor. What a sweet and loving person he must be. He also sent me the certificate that's shown in this post. If any of you are interested in having your babies names added to the shrine, or know someone who has lost a child(ren) I have the link also listed on my sidebar. It can be extremely comforting to see your child's name, not only on a certificate, but in many other ways. I hope this can help someone else as it did me. xoxo
Oh Jen, I didn't know about this. This is such a beautiful concept. Waylon is etched into my soul.
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