Trying to come together as a community when you are required to be social distancing is very detrimental to the grieving process. Providing love and support from a distance just loses some of the impact. However, we at Saint Albert were determined to utilize other methodologies to show our care and concern to a family going through a horrible experience.
Last Thursday evening I had the opportunity to lead a virtual prayer service from the chapel at Saint Albert. Several hundred people joined us during the live broadcast and more than 4,000 people have been reached with the recorded video since then. We are grateful for the strong support of our community.
The funeral took place privately today, but the school community showed support in a powerful way by lining the sidewalks along school. People gathered as much as an hour in advance waiting for the funeral procession to pass by. I can't even describe the level of emotion as the hearse passed by us.