By Chéye Roberson
Sentinel Correspondent
Family and friends took a moment Monday evening to remember loved ones they have lost at the annual Tree of Light celebration hosted by the Greenwich Hospital Home Hospice department.
The celebration, held at the hospital’s Noble Conference Center and its Sanna and Victor Borge Terrace, is a tradition of more than 20 years’ duration.
“It’s a celebration of life,” said Kathy Massi, a medical secretary for the Home Hospice department of Greenwich hospital.
Sue Root, a social worker for the Greenwich Home Hospice, was the coordinator of the celebration in charge of organizing the program and making arrangements for the singers.
“There’s a harpist that plays in the beginning and the Grace Notes who sing, and then different people speak,” said Massi.
Speakers included Norman Roth, president and CEO of the hospital; Dr. Donna E. Coletti, the director of the hospice department; and the Rev. Andrea Raynor of Hospice Spiritual Care.
Singers at the celebration included the Grace Notes, a local women’s singing group that has taken part in the celebration for several years, and the Temple Shalom Chamber.
The celebration gave remembrance to those who have died whether or not they were patients at Greenwich hospital. It also served as a time to remember living people who are of particular importance to someone in attendance.
Root said the program is “a ceremony to honor people—maybe a physician that’s important to them, or maybe someone who has passed away.”
After friends and family members lighted their candles, they proceeded out to the terrace for the tree lighting.
“There’s a little ceremony that they have in Noble and everybody lights the candles and they walk outside and there’s a tree that’s lit,” Massi said. “And every year they plant the tree after that. So it’s like the significance of remembering people that have passed away this year.”
Every year the organizers of the tree lighting celebration will chose someone to do the honor of lighting the tree.
“A family member that we choose every year, we ask a certain person to come and light the tree, and this year Maggie Reynolds was asked to light the tree in honor of her mom who passed away,” said Massi. “And then we go inside and have a little reception.”
The reception included hot chocolate and hors d’oeuvres provided by the Garden Café of the hospital.
There is also a memory board filled with pictures of loved ones that is displayed during the celebration.
“It could be a parent. It could be a spouse. Sometimes there’s children,” said Massi.
People were able to donate to Greenwich Hospital’s home hospice care through purchasing lights whose colors represented different amounts. “There’s significance in the colors. There are white, blue, green, and gold lights. And people can purchase lights for their loved ones in honor of someone,” said Massi.
According to Root, the amounts ranged from $15 for a white light, $25 for blue, $50 for green and over $100 for gold.
A record is kept of all the names of the people honored at the Tree of Light Celebration going back to 2010.
“We have a book of honor,” Massi explained. “And every year after the event is over, we collect the names and they are put into our master book, which is kept at the Greenwich Library. And it stays there all year. If people want to go to the library, they can go and look through the book and all the names are in it.”
