The University of Queensland will offer a poignant tribute to the women and men who have recently donated their bodies for teaching and research, by reading their names during the University's sixth ecumenical Thanksgiving Service.
Senior lecturer in anatomical sciences Dr Walter Wood said the reading of the donors' names would be a moving recognition of their generosity and would occur during the symbolic "lighting of the candles", the central feature of the service.
The service will be held at Mayne Hall St Lucia on Wednesday, May 7 at 5.30pm.
The John Paul College Choir, directed by Ms Noelene Munns, will sing at the service and the University's Vice-Chancellor, Professor John Hay, will give the address of welcome.
The recently-appointed University Anglican chaplain and paediatric surgeon Dr Mervyn Lander will lead the service. Dr Lander will be supported by the University chaplains, Rabbi Uri Themal, and the Imam Moulana Abdul Quddoos.
Dr Wood said the Thanksgiving Service was an opportunity for donors' relatives and friends to meet University staff and students and join in a common celebration of thanks to honour the donors and their bequests.
Dr Wood said the inaugural service in 1992, which honoured all donations to the University since 1927, had been so warmly received that it was now firmly established as an annual University event. It had drawn enquires from other tertiary institutions in Australia and New Zealand.
"Friends and relatives of donors frequently say the early removal of their loved one's body into the University's care and the absence of a funeral service soon after death create the feeling that they've not said their last farewells," he said.
'Often, there can be a two-year wait between the time of death of the donor and the return of ashes to friends or family: during this period, people can feel that their grieving process is incomplete.
'We felt that the service might help bridge this gap and judging by the many grateful letters received since the initiation of the service, this objective is being achieved.'
The Book of Remembrance, which records the names of all donors to the Anatomical Sciences Department since 1990, is a key symbol in the service. It will be opened by a recent medical graduate during the lighting of the candles and the reading of the names.
The Thanksgiving Service is supported by the Australian Medical Association, Australian Dental Association, Australian Physiotherapists Association, Royal College of General Practitioners and Sports Medicine Association. The entry of donors' names into the Book of Remembrance is supported by Mount Thompson Memorial Gardens.
Details about the service are on the Internet (http://www.extaff.uq.edu.au/thanksg.htm)
For further information, contact Dr Wood, telephone 3365 3387.
Media Note: Rehearsal for the service will be on Tuesday, May 6 at Mayne Hall at 5 pm.
