Area parents to honor dead children

HERMITAGE, Pa. — Area parents who have lost children will join others worldwide Dec. 9 lighting candles remembering their children.

The Mercer County Chapter of the Compassionate Friends, a national self-help support organization for families grieving the death of a child, will be part of the 11th worldwide candle-lighting event.

The Mercer County candle lighting will be at 2 p.m. in the Church of the Gentle Shepherd off the Shenango Valley Freeway near Dunkin Donuts. It will feature music, readings, a slide presentation of the children, the lighting and a fellowship dinner.

The worldwide observance starts at 7 p.m. just west of the International Date Line and continues across each time zone to create a 24-hour wave of light.

The Mercer County chapter meets regularly at 7 p.m. the last Monday of each month at Sharon Regional Health System’s new outpatient center in Hermitage.

For more information about the organization, go to its Web site at www.compassionatefriends.org or call (877) 969-0010.