A lit candle provides an ambient glow that can illuminate a room. Its light is comforting, warm and uplifting.

On Sunday, Dec. 14, this uplifting ambiance will span the globe as millions of candles are to be lit during the Worldwide Candle Lighting event from Compassionate Friends of Southwest Georgia. Each flame will represent a child who has passed away as the world honors the memory of their loved ones.

The event is the largest recorded candle lighting service in the world as programs all around earth light their candles at 7 p.m. sharp.

Bainbridge’s Worldwide Candle Lighting will be held at Willis Park. The program is to feature music, readings, poems and special speakers.

“Compassionate Friends helps to give you coping skills and associate with other parents (who have lost a child,” Compassionate Friends of Southwest Georgia president June Faircloth said.

Faircloth is committed to promoting Compassionate Friends as a way to honor the memory of her son, Dylan, who passed away in a driving accident in July 2010. She has found meeting, talking and grieving with other parents through the program as the most effective way to cope with the tragedy of losing a child.

Though her involvement, she has met parents like her across the country—parents she now calls friends.

The candle lighting service isn’t restricted to parents who have lost a child, though. The community is welcomed with open arms to attend and light candles in memory of children who have passed away, regardless of relation.

The Compassionate Friends of Southwest Georgia are also accepting donations as part of their year-end fund drive, where the community can donate in memory of a child.

“The outpour is unreal—the response,” Faircloth said about past attendance and donations. “We’re just so thankful. We live in a great little community.”

The program in Bainbridge will begin at 6:40 p.m.

The Compassionate Friends provides highly personal comfort, hope, and support to every family experiencing the death of a son or a daughter, a brother or a sister, or a grandchild, and helps others better assist the grieving family.

If you or a loved one is grieving from the death of your child or grandchild, contact Faircloth at (229) 416-6134 or visit the Compassionate Friends of Southwest Georgia Facebook page.