Congratulations to Mary Herridge and our Jr. High Staff & Students who were recently featured in NW Catholic Magazine - highlighting an important ministry that many people are unaware we provide - Honor Guard.
Below is the text from the article written by Nathan Whalon. You can view the original article on their website here.
BELLEVUE – At the conclusion of Sharon Haggerty Anderson’s funeral in 2020, students from the parish school lined the sidewalk outside St. Louise Church, remaining at attention as the family, carrying her urn, and some 400 mourners walked by.
“It’s such a warm send-off when you’re leaving the church after the memorial,” said Haggerty Anderson’s daughter, Maureen Haggerty Blum.
The students are participants in St. Louise School’s honor guard, a ministry of presence at the funerals of people with a connection to the school.
Being in the honor guard helped eighth-grader Becca Blank realize how tiny things can help.
“You don’t realize it means that much to people,” she said.
“The best thing you can do sometimes is just show up,” said fellow eighth-grader Michael Charles. “It makes a big impact.”
Students often are thanked by people attending the funeral, who sometimes shake their hands or acknowledge them with a nod, Charles said.
Religion teacher Mary Herridge started the St. Louise honor guard in 1995, soon after she experienced a student honor guard at her father’s 1994 funeral at St. Paul Church in Seattle.
“It felt like a warm hug from a familiar community,” Herridge said.
At St. Louise, honor guard members are usually seventh- and eighth-graders, who wear their school uniforms when participating. It’s a way for them to practice the corporal works of mercy and Catholic social teaching, Herridge said.
“They see the real-life connection,” she said. “We are standing in solidarity and support of those who are grieving.”
The honor guard attends about 20 funerals a year, drawing 20 to 80 students, depending on the time of a funeral and what’s happening in the classroom, Herridge said. Occasionally the honor guard is requested for people with a connection to the school whose funerals are at parishes in Bellevue, Kirkland and Sammamish.
“I think it’s a great witness [to] how we can be with each other in presence,” said St. Louise’s pastor, Father Gary Zender.
The students take their duty seriously.
“They show a deep level of respect in their posture,” Father Zender said, and their school uniforms provide “a powerful presence.”
It also reminds families of their connection to St. Louise School.
“They were once part of the community,” Herridge said. “They are always part of the community.”
“I think it’s a beautiful witness to have the students,” said David Gehrig, St. Louise’s pastoral assistant for pastoral care, who helps plan funerals and asks eligible families if they would like the honor guard present.
Haggerty Blum said her mother — a founding and active member of the parish who sent all six of her children to St. Louise School — always thanked the honor guard students at funerals she attended and wanted the honor guard to be present at her own funeral.
On occasion after a funeral Mass, Gehrig has seen St. Louise alumni, now adults, join the students in the honor guard line.
“It’s a great blessing and a real gift,” he said.
Participating in the honor guard is a good time for the students to reflect that life isn’t forever, Father Zender said: “The goal is to get into heaven.”
