Parishioners of Our Lady Queen of Martyrs Parish in Beverly Hills were among dozens who gathered Dec. 12 at Beaumont Children’s hospital in Royal Oak for “Moonbeams for Sweet Dreams,” in which participants shined flashlights toward the windows of sick children to let them know they’re not forgotten during the holidays.Photos by Dan Meloy | The Michigan Catholic
Royal Oak — Members of Our Lady Queen of Martyrs Parish displayed the light of Christ this Advent season, all while brightening the spirits of hospital-bound children.
On Dec. 12, members of the Beverly Hills parish met at Royal Oak Beaumont Hospital for “Moonbeams for Sweet Dreams,” an initiative of the Beaumont Children’s Pediatric Family Advisory Council in which members of the community shine flashlights in the direction of the children’s ward in a sign of support and holiday greetings.
Amid the freezing temperature and snow-covered ground, members of the parish huddled shoulder to shoulder with other members from the surrounding community, waving flashlights and wishing children in the hospital and their families a Merry Christmas.
“Our Lady Queen of Martyrs came out to support the children at Royal Oak Beaumont because we wanted to wish them a Merry Christmas and show them charity,” Our Lady Queen of Martyrs marketing director Angela Rotter told The Michigan Catholic. “This is the first year we’ve been part of ‘Moonbeams for Sweet Dreams,’ but it has been going on in the community for quite a while.”
Sr. Francesca Therese Bozzo, OSF, Christian service director at the parish, brought the idea to the parish as a way to show support to area children spending the Christmas season in the hospital.
“The children at Royal Oak Beaumont are part of our community,” Rotter said. “Showing them support as a community when they are not in the best situation is a way of showing who we are.”
An estimated 75 to 100 members of the parish and school showed up at 7:45 p.m. At 8 p.m., a bell rang and the group began waving flashlights and shouting season’s greetings to the patients in Beaumont Children’s, spreading Christmas cheer to children who could very well need it the most.
A woman and young girl huddle together during “Moonbeams for Sweet Dreams” at Beaumont Royal Oak Hospital on Dec 12.“So many children get to spend the holidays at home with their families, but these children are here in the hospital,” Our Lady Queen of Martyrs pastor Fr. Jim Smalarz said. “Flashing these flashlights to the children who also have flashlights shows the children they are being thought about.”
Fr. Smalarz said “Moonbeams” is another way Our Lady Queen of Martyrs is very much in tune with the community and willing to stand in solidarity with those who are in need of support.
“Sr. Francesca called about it and said the parish wants to get involved,” Fr. Smalarz said. “Our Lady Queen of Martyrs is a very community-focused parish. When we were made aware, we felt the need to reach out and support these children and their families. As a Catholic community, we are there to support them through prayer and a life of faith.”
Fr. Smalarz added that even though the group was only out in Beaumont’s parking lot for 20 minutes, the gesture is another way of the parish reaching out to the greater community.
“These are kids, some of them seriously sick,” Fr. Smalarz noted. “It also supports the parents, letting them know we’re thinking of them.”
Fr. Smalarz and Rotter said the outing allowed both parents and children to participate together, teaching an important lesson about caring for those in need.
“Events like these give the children in our parish a chance to support these children,” Fr. Smalarz said. “Hopefully they take a step back and are grateful for their own health and the way God has blessed them. It also helps them recognize there are people in need, even people their own age, and realize that as they celebrate Christmas, they are called to be the light of Christ in other people’s lives. No matter their age.”
