We are days away from our Chapter Candle lighting. It will be this Sunday, December 13th. We are very excited about the event, especially with the long year we have all endured. We hope all of you will join us as we take time to remember our Children in this special and meaningful way!
Here are some details about the event.
WHEN: Sunday, December 13th. We will start at 5:45PM and end by 7:15PM. MAKE SURE YOU ARRIVE EARLY SO YOU CAN BE AT YOUR TABLE NOT LATER THAN 5:45
DIRECTIONS TO THE CHURCH: Address is Coastal Community Church, 5795 Falcon Blvd, Cocoa, FL 32927. Physically, it is in the Port St. John area near I-95.
For reference, it is less than 35 miles from the I-95/ US192 (New Haven Blvd) interchange and approximately 33 minutes drive from there. You can adjust your time and distance depending on your start point.
From the south, you can get there either by I-95 or US-1.
Using I-95, go North to the Port St. John Pkwy exit. It is the first exit past the SR 528 exit to Port Canaveral. Exit on the Port St. John Pkwy exit and go east to the Grissom Parkway. Turn Left (North) on Grissom. Go 2 miles to Falcon Blvd and turn left on Falcon. Go 1 Mile on Falcon to the entrance to the Church on the left.
Using US, it is 13 miles from SR520 and US1 in Cocoa. Take US-1 North past SR520 for about 9 miles and turn left on Kings Hwy. Go 1.7 miles on Kings Hwy and turn left on Grissom Pkwy. Go 1/2 mile on Grissom and turn Right on Falcon Blvd. Go 1 Mile on Falcon to the entrance to the Church on the left.
BRING: Family. Also, you may bring a picture of your child to display. Cameras. Hand sanitizer. We will not have boxes of Kleenex on the tables like we usually do, but will have individual tissue packs. FACE MASKS for each individual.
WHAT TO EXPECT: There may be a slight delay to enter due to distance requirements and stop for a quick temperature check. Face Masks are required before entering and until you are seated at your table. There will be a table for you to sign in YOUR CHILDS NAME AS YOU WOULD LIKE IT READ DURING THE CEREMONY. Do that BEFORE we start the Ceremony. If you ordered Memorial Booklet(s), we will have a table available for picking them up. Please remain at your table during the entire event. No Hugging, unfortunately. Maintain social distancing at all times. While this seems restrictive, we believe we will be able to provide you with an evening that will be a very special occasion. We look forward to seeing you all!
We are getting closer to our biggest event of the year, and plans are proceeding! Just to give everyone a little update, we can tell you something about the new location. Cheryl Harrington, our newest Steering Committee member, graciously arranged with her church, Coastal Community Church, in Port St John, to use their facility. For those of you in South Brevard, don’t let the location scare you. It is very close to I-95 and not hard to get to. Actually, unless you live beachside, it is closer and easier to get to than the Cocoa Beach church we use for regular meetings. It is a very large, modern facility with plenty of space to maintain and exceed all Covid restrictions! Plus, it has all the high-tech video/audio equipment which will enhance our event. We are very excited to be welcomed by the church!
The one big change is that we have eliminated the pot luck at the beginning of the evening out of caution, but we have replaced it with a slide show of our recent activities at the October Walk to Remember and Butterfly Release. This slide show will fill the time before the Candle Lighting, but is not part of the ceremony.
You need to get to the church early to give us time to get everyone admitted to the facility safely. So plan on arriving BEFORE 5:45PM. The Candle Lighting will start promptly at 6:15PM and we do not want people arriving after we have started. So come early, and enjoy the Walk/Butterfly slide show while you wait.
The attached flyer has been updated to reflect the earlier arrival time, and includes more details on the precautions we are taking. Make a copy as a reminder. We will send out other reminders which will include directions to the Church. The address is on the current flyer.
While we are trying to make sure everyone gets a memento and has a slide of their child in the slide show, unless you have specifically told us you are coming, we cannot guarantee we have one. We don’t want to leave anyone out! So, if you are not sure you have told us you are coming, let us know NOW!!! Anyone who comes last minute will definitely have the opportunity to light a candle while your child’s name is read! Please make every effort to join us!
We know some of you are taking every precaution and don’t feel comfortable joining us in this kind of event. We understand! We may have an alternative for you that can be done from home, so keep looking for more information as we get closer.
2020 has been a very trying year for all of us, and especially bad for those who lost a child this year. This event is designed to bring some hope to all of us that we can go on. So make this year’s event a priority. It will help as we go into the December holiday events that are so difficult. End 2020 with Hope!!
Click here to Download the Candle lighting 2020 Flyer with all the details.