Dove Tree Ceremony remembers lost loved ones

The 19th annual Dove Tree Ceremony is a way to remember loved ones during the holiday season.

Participants wrote the names of their loved ones on paper doves, one name per dove, and placed the names on the boughs of a tree set up in the lobby of the Nolan Center, using loops of ribbon.

Ahead of hanging the paper doves, Alice Rooney, president of the nonprofit Hospice of Wrangell, which put on the event in-person this year after last year's was virtual, started the ceremony Sunday by expressing thanks and appreciation to the people involved - the organizers and the participants.

The Dove Tree will stay up until after New Year, Rooney said.

Nettie Covalt, of First Presbyterian Church, led the opening prayer, asking grieving families to be lifted up, wherever they are. "The year seemed long, and the names kept coming," Covalt said.

Cindy Martin, liaison at Wrangell Burial Assistance, read the story of the Dove Tree. "The dove has been an important symbol that transcends all cultures," Martin said, and are associated with love, tenderness and gentleness. "We hope the dove brings you comfort today."

Pastor Suellen Bahleda, of Island of Faith Lutheran Church, gave the homily. We are a many and varied people, Bahleda said, and there is no one else who has lived our story. "There is no more pain, no more suffering, no more decisions, only peace," Bahleda said. The chapters of life have been made more interesting by the people whose names were lifted up to the tree. Bahleda asked for "their peace to break into our days."

Sarah Scambler sang "You'll Never Walk Alone," accompanied by Alice Rooney on piano.

Volunteer Joan Sargent, Ellis and Covalt took turns reading the names of about 50 people participants had lost, whether this year or years prior, as people took turns going up to the tree and placing their doves. Volunteer Thomas Rooney Jr/(Kaalyaakw and Xookkwei in Tlingít), accompanied the reading of the names with a slow, steady drumbeat.

Josie Olsen, who has lived in Wrangell since 1999, placed several doves on the tree. One was to remember her mother, who died in January, and her aunt, who died in April, both in the Philippines. Due to COVID restrictions upturning travel, and her being a senior citizen, Olsen couldn't go for the funerals, she said. Of all the Dove Tree ceremonies she's attended, this was the first one at which she cried as much as she did, she said. The last time she saw her mother and aunt in person was before the pandemic.

Volunteer Bonnie Demerjian on cello, and Alice Rooney on piano performed "Heroes of Longhope."

Ellis gave the closing prayer. She said she began participating in the ceremony in 2008 after she lost both her parents, then became involved with the organization as secretary in 2018 after she retired. "It's a wonderful way to reach peace internally," Ellis said.

In a small community such as Wrangell, she said, the ceremony offers a sense of comfort, "knowing there are people out there to help you through things."

After the ceremony, Alice Rooney placed advice pamphlets under the tree with self-care tips for people going through grief.

Anyone who wants to remember a loved one can stop by any time the Nolan Center is open and write their name on a dove, and place it on the tree.