The organizer for Christ Church's 150-hour Remembrance Day vigil, which wrapped up on Saturday at the Chatham Cenotaph, says the event was "unbelievably successful."
"CK Keeping 150," which ran from 6am on November 5 to 12pm on November 11, was held in honour of Canada’s 150th anniversary, as well as the 100th anniversary of the battle of Vimy Ridge and the 75th anniversary of the raid on Dieppe.
Reverend Mark Sceviour says not a single minute of the vigil went unfilled by volunteers.
"It was a very beautiful service. I think because it was on a Saturday, we had a larger number than in the past. It ended with everyone taking their poppies off and placing it either in a wreath or around the cenotaph. I made a quick announcement to thank everyone who volunteered for the vigil and remind them that the promise that we made to the community, our veterans, and our fallen was 150 hours. 150 hours actually got us to noon," says Sceviour.
Sceviour says the vigil was "hugely supported by the community." In total, Sceviour says well over 1,000 volunteer hours were served at the event. He says hundreds of community members volunteered to stand vigil at the cenotaph, while hundreds more volunteered serving food and drinks to those standing guard.
"Almost every person that stood vigil had a personal reason for being there or wanted to find a way to pay respects that they were never given the opportunity to before. Every time I talked to people at the vigil, it was almost overwhelming," he says.
Sceviour says only two businesses in the community, including Sons of Kent and Fringe Hair Studio, stepped up to participate in the vigil. The rest of the volunteers were comprised of local volunteers and service groups.
"In retrospect, I think it was actually more poignant and beautiful that it wasn't business led and that it was actually led by individual people, service groups, and youth groups in the community," says Sceviour.
Sceviour says almost every service group in community signed up to participate, including multiple churches and organizations that took on several shifts each.
He says the cadet program, in particular, "really stepped up." He says the three units in Chatham-Kent covered about 30 hours of the vigil.
"Christ Church has already committed to saying that they would love to be the host of a smaller version of this next year, maybe a 24-hour or a 48-hour one --and the same idea again... it would be regular citizens, who don't very often get an opportunity like this," says Sceviour.