Words & pics by Ed King
A memorial Christmas tree has been planed in the front garden of EF Edwards on Gravelly Hill, in an act of remembrance for local people who have lost loved ones.
The long serving Erdington funeral directors, which has been helping local families through difficult times since 1966, are inviting people to decorate the tree with special silver star decorations – each carrying the names of departed friends and family members.
There is no charge, and the person being remembered with a star on the memorial tree did not need to be laid to rest by EF Edwards.
“We’d like to support the whole community and everyone who may be dealing with grief,” explained EF Edwards Funeral Manger, Lisa Hodge.
“The stars on the tree can help people, especially at this time of year, remember their loved ones and do something a bit more proactive. It can give people who are grieving something to focus on.
“It’s important to acknowledge that grief is a natural process and people have different ways in which they greave and how they get through that process – if we can do something that makes that a little bit easier then that’s what we’re here to do.”
Before Covid, EF Edwards would hold an annual memorial service at St Michael’s Church in Boldmere and display a memorial tree inside their Erdington based funeral home.
But due to the widespread impact of coronavirus and other illnesses, this year EF Edwards are reaching out to the wider community and planting a permanent memorial tree in their front garden.
“We always did a yearly memorial service around this time of year,” continued Lisa, “where we invited people to send in stars with the names of their loved ones which we would place on a tree within the branch.
“This year we want to extend that to the wider community and offer more people the chance to remember their loved ones, by putting stars on a tree outside at the front.
“The fact that it’s a tree that will remain here permanently will give back to both the community and the environment. It gives people the opportunity to pay their respects to friends, family, and loved ones they have lost – no matter how long ago it was.
“We’d like people to come back year after year in remembrance too, as the tree will keep growing and be a permanent fixture on our front garden.”
The perennial winter fir was donated by Short Heath Fields Trust, who are themselves in the process of building a Covid memorial woodland on Bleak Hill Park.
Estelle Murphy from Short Heath Trust delivered and planted the tree at EF Edwards on Thursday 9 December.
Outside of her role with the Trust, Estelle also works in palliative and end of life care and helps people come to terms with grief in her professional world.
Estelle told Erdington Local: “We were contacted by Lisa at EF Edwards and given the fact we’re in the process of building a living memorial for Covid we were more than happy to jump in and help.
“It’s important that people have time to heal, and everybody does it differently.
“The impact on a community from organisations like EF Edwards is vastly important; it’s where the community come when they need help in finding somewhere for their loved ones to be.
“It’s about finding somewhere they can remember their loved ones; funeral homes like EF Edwards are the bridge between the two.”
If you would like to have a loved on remembered on the memorial tree, contact EF Edwards on 0121 373 0300 or click here to visit their website.