Miscarriage Memorial

On Holy Saturday we observed a miscarriage memorial service at Resurrection Assembly of God, and I want to share a portion of that event with you.There’s a number of reasons we did this, the first being that miscarriages are so common, so heartbreaking, so often unacknowledged, and even more frequently un-grieved. But we’ve also been working with the University of Iowa Public Health department through Resurrection Assembly Americorps, Community Doulas of Johnson County through the College of Nursing at U Iowa and Johnson County Public Health, and Immigrant Moms of Iowa.In partnership with these agencies we’re providing care, advocacy, and community for mothers who significantly lack those things—specifically immigrant mothers who are often bewildered and isolated. Finally, we’re pro-life. An unborn child is no mere fetus as our pro-abortion society would have us believe. We will not add shame to the grief and misery by telling a mourning mother that her deceased child was no child at all. We held this service on Holy Saturday because it’s the day we remember Jesus’s time in the tomb. Like every woman who’s experienced a miscarriage, Jesus’s mother mourned her son’s death, and—as the Bible tells us—her pain was a sword piercing her very soul (Luke 2:35).Pastor Abby Anderson gave a homily at the memorial, which makes up the majority of the audio on this post. But you’ll also hear part of the same funeral liturgy we pray at every funeral we observe. And you’ll hear the names of families and women who asked that their unborn children’s lives be acknowledged and remembered.Feel free to share this post with those who are mourning or who have mourned, especially if you’re in the Iowa City area and know someone who can benefit from our International Pregnancy Fair on May 17:We believe in the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit josephlear.substack.com