She said she could only read the words to “Beside Me Always” at her son’s funeral 32 years ago. She wrote the song about her child. At the time, however, Judy Unger told herself she’d never sing again.
Unger sang the song during the Santa Clarita Valley Chapter of the Compassionate Friends’ 23rd annual Candle Light Remembrance Program Sunday evening at Bethlehem SCV Church in Canyon Country. She and other parents whose children died young shared an evening of music, spoken word, memories and support with family, friends and loved ones.
“When my tears are flowing,” Unger sang, “and I’m not sure where I’m going; I feel your love, then you’re beside me; always in the breeze that’s blowing.”
According to chapter co-leader Diana Briones, who lost her daughter in an auto collision 27 years ago, the Candle Light Remembrance Program, which welcomed about 80 guests, was intended to honor the children, grandchildren and siblings who left the world too soon.
“The annual worldwide candle-lighting ceremony is believed to be the largest mass candle-lighting service,” she said at the beginning of the event on Sunday. “Candles are first lit at 7 p.m. in New Zealand, eventually encompassing the world, through the world, with a 24-hour wave of light.”
A number of parents read poems or sang songs in memory of their kids. Alice Renolds, co-leader of the SCV Chapter of the Compassionate Friends, read a poem called “A Call to the Heavens” about the golden flame of candlelight shining for the children in heaven in memory of her two sons, Tim and Danny, who were killed in a car crash in 2000.
At 7 p.m., the group illuminated candles and stood up one by one as Renolds listed off the names of lost loved ones. Then a video presentation showed pictures of those the group was honoring and remembering.
“When all the candles were lit and our precious children’s names were read,” Briones said in closing, “it brought such a beautiful light and brought us all a little closer.”
The service came to an end, and the group of people gathered closer together to converse freely, support one another and be true compassionate friends.
For more information about the SCV Chapter of the Compassionate Friends, go to CompassionateFriends-SCV.org.
