POZ Community Forums
Off Topic Forums => Forums Gatherings => Topic started by: AlanBama on May 31, 2006, 05:54:50 pm
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Hello gang -
I just wanted to to let you all know some information about our Visit to the Chapel of Hope. Jan and I have been working diligently to prepare this, and we sincerely believe it will be the hi-light of AMG 06, and something we can all cherish.
The Saint-Pierre-Apôtre is a neo-gothic church, built in 1851, at 1201 Visitation Street. It houses the Chapel of Hope, the first chapel in the world consecrated to the memory of victims of AIDS. Jan and I feel that this is a perfect place for us to hold our commemorative service.
I have been communicating with Fr. Yoland Ouellet, the Priest of Saint-Pierre-Apôtre church, and with Yves Cote, a laic who is a pastoral animator. Yves' partner, Louis, is fluent in English and has been able to communicate very well with me on behalf of the Church. He is also a member of AIDSmeds.com !
Fr. Ouellet will be delighted for us to conduct our service in the Chapel of Hope, on Friday morning, August 18th, at 10:00 a.m. The Canuck informs me that the Church is only a few streets from our hotel, and we should be able to walk there with no problem. For anyone who has any reservations about attending a service in a Catholic Church, let me just say this: I have explained that we are a very diverse group of people, men and women, straight and gay, young and old. As long as we are respectful in the Chapel, I do not believe they will have a problem with us conducting our service in a non-traditional way. It will be very inclusive in nature, more spiritual rather than "religious", and we are trying to ensure that it is totally non-denominational.
Jan and I ask for your support and your cooperation, as we try to move forward with our planning of this event. I am very excited about it, and I hope you all will be too! We think it is very important for us to come together as a group to honor our brothers and sisters who have gone before us. The candle lighting ceremony we are planning will be very symbolic, and hopefully, very meaningful to all of us.
In love and unity,
Alan
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I just know it will be wonderful.
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and I do, too!
Thanks, Alan, and Jan, for your hard work on this!
Love,
Zephyr :-*
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I just wanted to post a quick update to say that 'all systems are go' and everything is in place (candles, cups, etc) for our ceremony on the 18th. Louis has been most helpful in his communications with me, and I am very grateful.
Hopefully, Jan will be able to stop by and meet with the people at the Church as soon as she arrives (she's getting there a few days ahead of me) and make sure everything is taken care of.
I think this is going to be a very memorable event for everyone involved.
Love,
Alan
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Thanks for update Alan !
The Canuck
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Hi everyone
Thanks Alan for posting the up-date on our memorial day.
I will visit the Chapel on the morning of the 16th just to make sure that everything will be ready for our memorial on the 18th.
As Alan has said, all our individual candle's have been ordered and will be ready for us on the day..so I would like to take this opportunity and ask all of you if you will donate $CA2 each to cover the cost of the candles...and if you could see your way to giving a little more..say a $1 maybe 2..so we can give a little extra donation to the Chapel fund and to show our thanks for the help they have given us in preparation for our service.
If you have any questions please don't hesitate to ask...we will keep you informed of more up-date's as they come in.
Thank you Alan for everything you have done.
((hugs))
Jan :-*
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Jan,
Thanks for the extra information. I suppose we'll give this money in Montreal, and it won't be a problem either for the $2.00 + extra donation for the Chapel fund.
Best Regards,
The Canuck
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i have to ask.. will holy wine be served? or even not-so-holy wine?
Bailey (who is a wino)
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No vino I think...but we can have some afterwards during lunch. ;)
The Canuck
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Hi Jan
I'm more than willing to make a $3.00 or $4.00 donation to the chapel ($2.00 for the candle and an additional $1.00 or $2.00 for the church).
I think it's a small token and an easy way for us to give a little something back.
RAB
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I just read this thread for the first time, and a I am left feeling like I am in the presence of Angels.
I cannot believe that this late in life, I am deluged with people of this caliber, and this much soul. I just want to thank all of you who have been so generous and caring in your actions and in your spirit.
In Love and Awe.
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Hi y'all...
I spoke to Jan today, our plans are moving along nicely and we are 'ironing out the kinks', so that our Visit to the Chapel will go smoothly.
We would like for everyone to plan to wear their AMG tee shirts on that Friday morning, and we will need to assemble in the hotel lobby early enough so that we can walk over to the Church in time for our service, which will begin promptly at 10:00 a.m. The Church will be conducting their regular Mass at 11:00 a.m. so we have to be prompt.
I look forward to sharing this special time with Jan and with each of you. We believe it will be a moving experience for all, where we can remember those we have lost, and celebrate the lives of those who are living with HIV/AIDS.
With love,
Alan
"I accept my deep personal spirituality. I nurture and support my spirit nature. I trust the creative spirit of the Universe. Peace of God is my only goal."
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Hi Alan!
I'll be there, with my 'Tee' on!!
Thanks for all the work Jan and you have gone to to put this together...bless you both!
Love,
Zeph :-*
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Hello family.
This is the final post I will make about our visit to the Chapel. We will actually be there 2 weeks from Friday!
This service will be the result of a lot of pre-planning and correspondence with the Church, and it has been a labor of love for Jan and me. We have become very good friends during the past year, and I cannot wait to hug her and kiss her!
We will see you all at the Chapel of Hope on the 18th, promptly at 10:00 a.m.
Come with your AMG tee shirts on and your hearts open. Prepare to experience the power of the "Circle of Light".
Love to all,
Alan
PS - a special thanks to John for allowing me the use of the AMG logo.
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Nice job Alan and Jan. You guys really pulled it off. Doing the T-shirt thing was NOTHING like what you had to deal with.....
And Claude
Ans SAE
and everyone else. I am stoked.
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I'm crying right now. Why is that?
:'(
I think the effort you have both given is just a small testament of your amazing spirit.
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I'm reluctant to say this, but if anything I am honest ......
I sincerely do not know if I will be able to go through with it. Just reading over my material and our plans for the ceremony, I begin to cry uncontrollably.
I am no great organizer of events, no public speaker, and certainly not at an emotional gathering such as this. I will be asking for all your prayers and encouragement, for the strength to make it through it (and maybe an Ativan or two)
Sometimes I hate it that I am so damn emotional.
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I'm crying right now. Why is that?
RAB...because you are a sentimental ole' fool ! ;)
Kidding aside folks, a very sincere thanks to Jan & Alan for their involvement into this project. :D
See y'all soon ( pronounced with a Southern accent ) :o
Regards,
The Canuck
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Hi Alan
Thank you for posting the up-date on our memorial service..one of the many reasons I have enjoyed working on this is because I got the chance to meet a wonderful man, Alan has been such a big part of my life since starting this, I'm so blessed to have him in my lfe.
This is the wonderful thing about our AMG's, it gives us the chance to meet all our on-line friends, some of whom will become lifelong friends...and this service is also for us all to celebrate our lives together despite HIV and to remember those we have lost, it will be an emotional time for all of us, but I'm prepared for the tears.
So many people have put in so much of their time on this gathering..so I would like to say a very special thanks to you all...you are all an amazing bunch of guys..I joined the forums in 2003 and you are the reason I'm still here.
FOR RAB...Could the tears be because you forgot to pack those pink undies and have now discovered there is no more room for them... :D
Hugs and love to you all
Jan :-* :-*
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None of you know me very well at all, but I have a great deal of experience in this particular area. Since I am so new to the group I have been very passive and quite willing to experience what the others have planned. If any assistance is needed at the chapel, I will be ready, willing and able to help in any way. So feel free to ask if you feel it is necessary. If not necessary, it will be joy for me to simply experience what you have planned.
Gary
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That's alright, because I'm crying as well. This thread just reminded me of the simultaneous joy and abject horror that I will experience during this ceremony. To be surrounded by all of you, while we remember our departed friends. It's rare for pain to feel so good and I expect our Montreal experience to be as powerful as it was in Toronto.
I also can't think of two kinder or more genuine people that Jan and Alan and I know you have created something truly beautiful for all of us. You have my gratitude, because I just don't know if I could plan such a remembrance and I eagerly await experiencing what you both have created.
Thank you for sharing your generous spirits.
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Hello all,
I am very excited about the Friday trip to the Chapel and I appreciate what Jan and Alan have done to organize this, for us! I am also very new to this community but am excited about meeting everybody in Montreal. I look forward to thanking them in person for all the work they have done. See you all 2 weeks from today.
Marc
www.loupoz.com
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Just wanted to say Wow! and Thank You to Alan, Jan and all those who played a part in putting this together.
Alan honey, you know damn well that the moment you start crying, the church will have to be closed because of flooding - because we'll be crying right there with you.
All I can say is I look forward to experiencing the Circle of Light.
HUGS
Mark
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Alan honey, you know damn well that the moment you start crying, the church will have to be closed because of flooding - because we'll be crying right there with you.
We shall install a pump for evacuating water then. ;)
Regards,
The Canuck
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Perhaps this is a stupid question...but I've read this thread and others, maybe someone could link me to the answer...is this memorial service for all of our loved ones, or for those we've lost to AIDS? I mentioned my trip to a well-travelled acquaintance at work via email, specifying this was the aidsmeds gathering, and he replied that the church/chapel I described was exactly where he hoped I would be going, and to remember, if I had the chance, his partner, whom he said would have loved it (he didn't specify about how he lost his partner.) I want to be prepared for who I will be remembering (even my grandmother.) I'm starting to get a little leaky right now.
This whole trip is going to be fantastic for me, I want you all to know again!
Blessings,
Creighton
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Hi Creighton,
I sent you a p.m. about this.... Jan and I see it primarily as an AIDS memorial service, where we will honor the memory of those we have lost, and honor the REALITY that is LIVING WITH HIV/AIDS for all of us who are members of A.M.
forums.
We are so very limited due to time constraints, we are going to have to move at a fairly good pace. The service will probably mean different things to different people.....mostly, it's about silent reflection of how HIV/AIDS has impacted your life. And, importantly, it is to reinforce the CONNECTION that we all have with each other. There is power in numbers, and the candle lighting is a very symbolic way to show our love and support for each other, as well as remembrance for those we have lost.
Feel free to honor whomever you wish to, in your heart, when your flame is lit.
I know I will be honoring the friends and relatives that I have lost to AIDS, and I will be reflecting on the pride and joy I feel at being with a group as loving as this family, and celebrate being a part of it.
Hugs,
Alan
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Alan...I wouldn't miss it for the world. I'll definitely lighting a candle for David...
I'm glad to hear crying is allowed. I'm sure I'll be shedding a few tears....... :'(
And to those who planned and made this trip to the Chapel an event ....
I Thank You! :-* :-* :-*
Looking forward to meeting you all........... :-* :-* :-*
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