Christmas is a season when friends and family take center stage. It can be a hard time for students grieving the loss of someone they love. Lights for Life is a campaign that helps people honour their deceased or missing loved ones during the Christmas season. A group of students (usually the pastoral team, or a mission group) take control of this program. For two weeks before Christmas they sell Christmas lights for $1. The person purchasing the light informs the seller of whom the light is to represent. At the end of the campaign all the lights are strung up at the entrance of the school or outside the chapel as a visual symbol of all the people we wish we could see at Christmas. In a visible place near the lights a list of all the people that the lights represent is displayed. Prayers are said for these people and those who are missing them. Emphasis is placed on the fact that lights can be purchased not just for a deceased person but also for family or friends who live far away.

The Lights for Life campaign gives students and staff a concrete way to deal with emotions they may be struggling with. In our school communities, we have many students with relatives who are in the Canadian Military serving in Afghanistan. Some have relatives all over the country or around the world. Students also have lost family members and friends throughout the year. The last day of school before Christmas holidays, all who purchased lights are invited to a short prayer service near the lights to pray in unity for their families and friends. The money made from the selling of the lights is donated to a charity in the community or abroad. Students can see that through their mourning and grieving they have made a concrete difference in the lives of people who are alive and are suffering in their daily lives.

Graphic:
http://www.cruzblanca.org/hermanoleon