A Christmas Gift for St John's Hospice

This is just to let friends know about another quick and simple fundraiser for St John's Hospice, as a Christmas thank-you for all they did for Debbie.

She co-wrote a song called 'Name Above All Names' with Alan Porteous, and our son Jono recorded it with the help of some friends. Click here to download the track. 

We would appreciate it if you made a donation - however small - in thanksgiving to go to St John's Hospice via their donations page.

Charity Concert in Memory of Debbie

Lancaster Priory is hosting a concert by Yvonne Lyon in memory of Debbie. It will be in support of St John's Hospice, who cared for Debbie so well in the final weeks of her life.

The concert will be on Tuesday 13 September at 7-30pm, and will form part of the Priory's festival week. You can find out about purchasing tickets here.

The concert will feature songs from Yvonne's album 'Held'. Yvonne co-wrote songs on the album with people who had some experience of bereavement, and manages to capture the sadness, but also the hope and joy in the stories that were shared.

Here's a performance from earlier this year of one of the tracks from the album: 'Till We Meet Again'

Debbie's song

Mike writes:

At Debbie's funeral, we heard her song "Patient Grace" sung by Jono. We thought a fitting final post on her blog would be to post the words to the song, and information as to how you can obtain a copy of the recording and also other ways to make donations to the causes Debs wanted to support.

Patient Grace. 

Patient Grace
Infinite gentleness, endlessly kind
Oil of gladness within me
Turning and shaping the dirt and the grit of my life
To a pearl of great price;

Healing Grace,
Calming the wind and the waves of my mind
Melting the sadness within me
Warming and thawing the snow and the ice in my soul
To a river of life

You are making a new heart within me
A heart that will beat with the beat of your own
A heart of flesh and not a heart of stone
You are making a new heart in me;
You are singing a new song within me
A song that will thrill through my flesh and my bone,
And now it will sing me till I’m wholly your own 
You are singing a new song in me.

And the making may take forever
And the shaping may never end;
But what does it matter now we are together,
And you are our friend?

Saving Grace
Calling me out from the depths of my tomb
Braving the stench of decay
Peeling the wraps and the bandages gently away
To show me my face;

Radiant Grace
Light in the darkness that once was my home
Light that no darkness can master
Light that will fill me and flood me and spill out in stars
Of wonder and praise

You are making….

Words and Music (c) Debbie Peatman 2005

[edit April 2021] The recording is no longer available via the old Justgiving link. You can download it here, but we ask that you make a donation - however small - as a thank-you.

To make a Gift Aid donation to St John's Hospice, click here.

To make a Gift Aid donation to the work of Messy Church, click here.

If you do make a direct donation, it would be great to know about it, so we can add it to the total donations we are aware of. We can include other donations separately on the Justgiving page to keep an online tally. Please notify Mike by email or Facebook Messenger.

Finally, here is the picture of Debbie we placed on the front of the order of service, which captured her laughter at Jono and Amy's wedding in March 2015. We hope that is a fitting way to sign off on this amazing blog.

Mike

More Funeral Information

Mike writing:

Here is a bit more information for Debbie’s funeral 22/4/16 at 1pm If you’re not familiar with the location, the church is on Church Street, Morecambe. Parking is limited, and we need to ensure there is space for the funeral cars, so the primary school playground next door will be open for parking, there is a pay and display car park on Matthias Street by the Town Hall, and also on-street parking in nearby roads.

Church will be open from 12 Noon, with music playing chosen by Debbie. We expect a lot of people, so there will be a video relay across in the War Memorial Hall . Please don’t worry about bringing children - Debbie would want them to know they are welcome. If you are worried about how they might cope with being in the service, you can always take them to the hall instead and follow things from there.

Tea, coffee and cake will be served over in the hall after the service finishes for those who don’t wish to attend the committal. Please note the journey to Dalton woodland burial ground takes about 25 mins, so we will be a while before we return to join in.

You are welcome to come to Dalton, but please bear in mind that parking is limited. If you are driving there, please try and make sure you take a full car, as that will help the pressure on space. The weather is currently good, so we don’t anticipate it being muddy. Even if it stays dry, do make sure your shoes can cope with the ground being uneven. If it rains, we’ll need something waterproof on our feet.

Whether you can stay on after the service or not, please don't leave before signing one of our special memory books over in the Memorial Hall. We would really like to have a record of everyone who attended. Just writing your name is fine, but feel free to add anything else (or even draw something!) If you’re bringing children, please make sure you have a few crayons or felt tips for them to join in.

You can make a donation on the day, which will be split between St John’s Hospice and Messy Church. We will also be setting up something on Justgiving soon.

Thank you for all the cards and greetings. We can’t hope to respond to them all, but we have read them and they are appreciated.

Mike writing:

For further information about Debbie's funeral, please refer to my blog.

Debbie

Mike writing: 

Dear Friends,
This is to let you know that Debbie died at St John’s Hospice on Wed 13 April at around 5.50pm. She had not been conscious for a couple of days, and spent the day sleeping, calm and in no discomfort or pain. I was there with Jono, Ellie and Amy when the end came, and it was very peaceful. The Hospice was where Debbie wanted to be for this stage of her illness, and we are glad that was able to be the case. We are very grateful to all the staff who have made her stay so comfortable, and who have been so hospitable to us.

It’s obviously too early to have made any arrangements for the funeral, so we will post something when we are able to tell you more.

In the meantime, thank you for accompanying us on this journey.

An update on Debbie

This is Mike writing:

Debbie is very happy and relieved to be staying in St John's Hospice. They are keeping her comfortable and out of any pain, and we are all appreciating the love and care they show in all that they do for Debbie. She is very tired, and communication is increasingly a challenge, so she is no longer able to engage directly with Facebook, blogs and email. However, I am checking from time to time and I'll do my best to pass on the greetings and good wishes I have found.