‘Empty Chair’ service to help those grieving during holidays
WAYNESBURG – The holidays are supposed to be a joyous time, but for some people still grieving, the festive parties, carols and gifts only serve as a cruel reminder of the loved ones who are no longer here.
For those families, a chair around the Christmas dinner table will be empty. At 7 p.m. Dec. 9, a nondenominational memorial service called “The Empty Chair: A Time for Remembrance” will be held in the First Christian Church, Morris Street, Waynesburg.
“We all tend to notice that ’empty chair’ at the table a little more visibly during this time. The service includes a candlelight portion and the reading of the names,” said Cherie Rumskey, a victim’s advocate for the Greene County district attorney’s office.
The Rev. Donald P. Wilson and Michael Hasselbring, minister of the host church, will lead the service, which also will feature soothing music and rituals meant to lend comfort to those who are hurting.
Sandy Seybold and Carol Furmanek, who both know the meaning of having an empty chair, are the prime organizers of the event, along with the Greene County district attorney’s office and the Victim/Witness Assistance Program.
Seybold, a member of the Griefshare support group who lost her son, Chad, in 2004 from injuries sustained in a vehicle crash, said the service helps people deal with the loss of a loved one.
Furmanek, whose daughter, Rhonda, was murdered as a result of domestic violence in 1994, has been involved with the Empty Chair service since its inception.
As she has done every year of the Empty Chair, Seybold has made ornaments to be distributed to all attending the event. Last year, she made beaded angels and this year she will make angels from ribbons that can be used either as pins or as a Christmas ornament.
Seybold has created grief baskets with poetry, journals, picture frames and other soothing items, memorial DVDs and comfort blankets to give to families of murder victims. She also attends court hearings and trials to provide emotional support to the victims’ families.
“It doesn’t matter whether someone died 25 years ago or last week,” Rumskey said. “Anyone who has lost a loved one by any means is most welcome to attend. The empty chair is not limiting,” she said.
Following the service will be a time for refreshments, during which families can share personal experiences, pictures and stories. “I think that time of fellowship is the most important part of the service,” she said.
For more information, call Rumskey at the Victim/Witness Assistance Program at 724-852-5229.