When community chaplain Chrissie Staples was out walking one day a woman stopped her to say she had just lost her 12-year-old granddaughter to suicide.
This was the first of several stories she was about to hear from people who suffered loss during the Covid-19 pandemic and had been unable to grieve in the usual ways.
When Indian friends were unable to return home to support family when their brother died, they were grief stricken. Another friend could not attend the funeral of a family member due to lockdown.
Many have missed out on saying goodbyes to loved ones in hospices, rest homes and hospitals as well as overseas, Staples says.
"The past two and a half years have affected so many people who haven't been able to see parents or other close relatives, or to get together with family to grieve according to their family or cultural customs.
"As I discussed this with a group of friends, we decided to hold a memorial gathering to commemorate the lives of those we have lost."