Worldwide Candle Lighting

The Worldwide Candle Lighting unites family and friends around the globe in lighting candles to honor the memories of the children, grandchildren and siblings who have died. Held the second Sunday in December, candles are lit at 7:00 PM in each time zone as hundreds of thousands of persons around the world commemorate and honor the memory of all children gone too soon.  TCF’s Worldwide Candle Lighting started in the United States in 1997 as a small internet observance, but has since swelled in numbers as word has spread throughout the world of the remembrance of children who have died, but will

The Patapsco Valley Chapter will hold their Candle Lighting Program on December 11, 2022 @ 7:00 PM at St John’s Episcopal Church.  The program will include readings, music and remembrances offered by parents, grandparents and siblings.  A reception and time of fellowship follows the program.  Please bring pictures of your loved ones to share on the memory table.

Want to volunteer? We need help with set up, greeters, music and clean up.
If you would like to be included in the program, volunteer or have questions, please email Jane Hipsley hipsleyfamily@hotmail.com or leave a message at 410.440-6909. If you want to be included in the program, please respond by December 3, 2022.

The Candle Lighting program will be held in All Saints Hall (ASH). Enter through the red doors to the Auditorium, where our monthly meetings are held. The address is:

St. John’s Episcopal Church
9120 Frederick Road
Ellicott City, MD 21042

Click here for a campus map.

Annual National Conference

A National Conference of The Compassionate Friends is unlike any other conference you may ever attend. It is a place where you can go and know that you truly are not alone as you travel your grief journey. Every person comes for the same reason, a child has died. It is a place where “friendship, understanding, and hope” are more than just words. For almost three and a half decades, The Compassionate Friends has held National Conferences in different locations, from the east coast to the west coast, from north to south. Today it’s normal to have 1100-1400 bereaved parents, siblings, and grandparents attend.  The National Conference is normally held in July or August.

Houston, Texas will be the site of the 45th TCF National Conference on August 5-7, 2022,  which promises more of the great National Conference experience. The  Conference will be held at the Marriott Marquis Houston. Find details on the national website and on our TCF/USA Facebook Page. Plan to come and be a part of this heartwarming experience

Walk to Remember

When a child dies in a family, life as that family knows it is never the same. They learn to cherish the ways in which they can have their special child remembered. The Compassionate Friends Walk to Remember® was created as a symbolic way to show the love we carry for the children we mourn. The Walk to Remember® kicks off the final day of the Annual National Conference. Every year volunteers carry the names of thousands of children whose parents, grandparents, and siblings are not able to attend, but wish to have them remembered.

Every year at the national TCF conference a Walk To Remember is held on Sunday mornings.  It actually is a time of celebration after coming together for a few days and sharing our loved one(s) with so many on the same journey of healing.

Virtual Walk to Remember

Can’t get to the national conference or just want to help the good work of our chapter?  For those who wish to support the Patapsco Valley Chapter here at home there is a virtual Walk to Remember.   More details will be provided in the month before the annual conference.