CULLMAN, Ala. – There is a certain kind of quiet that settles over a room at Christmastime when people gather to remember.
It is the hush before the first carol. The soft rustle of a program in someone’s hands. The glow of a single candle passed from one neighbor to the next. And somewhere in that stillness, a name is spoken, a face comes to mind, and for a moment, someone dearly missed feels close once again.
For 35 years, that moment has had a home in Cullman.
The Cullman Regional Foundation will hold its 35th annual Dr. Herman C. Ensor Lights of Love Christmas Ceremony on Tuesday, Dec. 8, at 6 p.m. in Christ Hall at St. John’s Church, 512 Second Ave. SE. The program is free and open to everyone.
“Families and friends of loved ones come together during a special season to remember loved ones,” said Maria Stanford, executive director of the Cullman Regional Foundation. “We pray together, sing together, and it provides a time to reflect on memories.”
The ceremony carries the name of the man who started it.
Dr. Herman C. Ensor was recruited to what was then Cullman Hospital in 1975, where he started the area’s first obstetrics and gynecology practice. Two years later, he helped establish the Cullman Regional Foundation. He went on to serve as president of the Cullman Regional medical staff and chairman of the board of directors, and he is fondly remembered by those who knew him as a caring and dedicated physician.
In 1991, Ensor created the Lights of Love Tree Lighting Ceremony to honor and remember those lost during the year. Stanford said that in the early years, Ensor himself would read aloud the names of the loved ones being remembered.
In 2010, the Foundation’s board renamed the event in honor of his many contributions.
The ceremony lasts about 45 minutes and opens with a devotional shared by the Cullman Regional Hospice chaplain, followed by special remarks from the foundation president. Then the music begins.
Members of the Daystar and Desperation Worship Team will provide special Christmas music as the names of those being honored and remembered appear, one by one, in a slideshow. Each slide lingers for about five seconds, and in a typical year, more than 400 people are featured.
The evening closes the way it always has: by candlelight.
Each gift places a light on the Christmas tree that sits atop Cullman Regional, where it shines over the city throughout the holiday season, a quiet tribute to someone special glowing above the place where so many families have spent their hardest and most hopeful days.
This year’s ceremony is dedicated to Cullman Regional Hospice patients who passed away this past year, and in honor of Dr. Donald Marecle, a prominent surgeon who recently retired after more than 40 years of practicing general surgery and endoscopy at Cullman Regional.
A gift of $20, $40, $60 or more places a light on the tree in honor or in memory of a loved one. Gifts are tax-deductible, and gift amounts are kept confidential. Acknowledgement cards are sent to those being honored and to the families of those being remembered.
Lights may be dedicated throughout the holiday season, but gifts must be received by Friday, Dec. 4, to be included in the Dec. 8 program. Donations can be made online at www.cullmanregional.com/foundation/events/lights-love-donate or by check made payable to the Cullman Regional Foundation, P.O. Box 1108, Cullman, AL 35056-1108.
Proceeds will help purchase medical equipment at Cullman Regional. This year’s goal is $15,000. Last year, the program raised more than $16,600.
“All gifts matter to us, and we are grateful to the community who has supported this program for the past 35 years,” Stanford said. “The Cullman Regional Foundation Board of Trustees would like to extend an invitation to the community to join us for a special evening.”
