Memorial Service In Austin To Honor Lives Lost To Coronavirus

AUSTIN, TX — A memorial service remembering those who have died amid the coronavirus pandemic is scheduled in Austin this month, officials announced.

To date, some 465,000 people across the U.S. have died from COVID-19, including 685 deaths in Travis County alone, at last check. The City of Austin will come together with Interfaith Action of Central Texas to honor the lives of those who have perished.

“Remembrance for Those We’ve Lost” begins at 3 p.m., on Sunday, Feb. 28, via Microsoft Teams and on the Austin Parks & Recreation Department's YouTube channel and Facebook page. This interfaith service of secular and non-secular memorials will celebrate the lives of those lost to the scourge while honoring families of loved ones affected by COVID-19, city officials wrote in an advisory.

The service is a collaboration of the City of Austin; Travis County; Community Advancement Network, Austin Community College; Interfaith Action of Central Texas; the Emma S. Barrientos Mexican American Cultural Center; Oakwood Cemetery Chapel; and other partner organizations. The service includes prayers, music, and practices from diverse traditions including Bahá'í; Hindu; Jewish; Muslim; Protestant; Buddhist; Catholic; Sikh; Unitarian; Indigenous peoples; along with secular remembrances.

Simone Talma Flowers, executive director of iACT, who collaborated with Dr. Nora Comstock on the concept of the Remembrance service, described the planned event. "We will come together to remember every life lost to COVID-19, and to bring healing and closure in our hearts for all the loss we have experienced this past year,” she said.

The mission of Interfaith Action of Central Texas (iACT) is to cultivate peace and respect through interfaith dialogue, service, and celebration, officials wrote. Dr. Nora Comstock, Las Comadres Para Las Americas, Austin Community College Trustee, and immediate past chair for the Community Advancement Network's Community Council, added: “We will remember each life lost to COVID and during this time of the pandemic.”