Mourning: Glass Stones and Notes
A glass platter with glass stones - Photography Wilke Geurds
“The attributes”, according to the two initiators, “help you to contemplate and to break free from all the noise around us.” The room, in particular, holds objects that help people to mourn the loss of a loved one. This function is illustrated by the sandy brown colored wall on the right of the room. It is a place for people to hang notes, many filled with emotions of grief, but also joy. Some notes leave a deep impression. They are prayers, such as “let the operation succeed” or “help me, I am desperate”. People are also happy and want to share this!
As a gesture of support, this Protestant community offers friends and relatives of a departed community member the opportunity to choose a specially designed glass stone (figure 1). Afterwards the volunteers make sure that the name of the departed is inscribed and given to them: “This gives the bereaved the opportunity to come together.”