The Vashon Threshold Choir will host the third “Community Remembrance” gathering at 2 p.m. Sunday, May 25, at the Vashon Methodist Church.

This nondenominational service on the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend is open to everyone who would like to honor and remember friends and loved ones. Participants may bring pictures and/or flowers if they wish. The service will be held in the church sanctuary, and all are welcome regardless of beliefs.

Music will be provided by the Threshold Choir and Island musicians. The Threshold Choir is a group of Island women who offer the service of singing to those who are seriously ill or near the end of life. The choir has been meeting for three years, and the service of bedside singing is their gift to the community and is free of charge.

Melania Weller, the Providence Hospice chaplain on Vashon, will lead the gathering. One of the loveliest parts of the service in past years has been the lighting of individual floating candles that represent the memory of loved ones. Following the lighting of the candles, anyone who wishes to share something about their loved ones may do so; others may wish to pay respects silently. The sharing of grief and remembrances in a community setting can be healing and powerful whether the loss is recent or long ago.

Refreshments will be provided.

— Susan Commeree is a member of the Vashon Threshold Choir.