One by one, the people seated in the pews of St. Thaddeus Episcopal Church walked down the shadow-covered aisle in silence to the altar. There, each one lit a slender white candle and leaned into the microphone to say the name of a child whose life ended too soon.
The nearly 30 people were gathered Tuesday evening for the National Day of Remembrance for Pregnancy and Infant Loss, organized by Hospice of Chattanooga. The service was a time for families to share memories, as well as grief, and connect with neighbors who have experienced similar losses.
Melissa Alexander lost her son in the final weeks of her pregnancy in March 2011. She had already named the boy Pete, after her father. Learning at the hospital that the child died was devastating, she said.
“I laid in my bed all night long, poking my belly, hoping he would move,” Alexander said.
In the operating room, when it was time to remove him, Alexander knew it would be the last time she would be with her baby, she said. She got to hold the child for a few minutes before handing him over to the doctors. That was the hardest day of her life, she said.