Blessing Service for Home of Naveah Goddard

The Stow community was stunned and saddened by the tragic death of Naveah Goddard, 17, in April. She had been living at the rental house owned by First Parish Church of Stow & Acton (FPC). The house was once a parsonage for ministers, then a space for classrooms and groups to meet in, and became a rental home as the church built additions.

On Monday, June 24, FPC held a service at the house to bless it, led by the Rev. Dr. Cynthia L. Landrum. In attendance were Stow Chief of Police Michael Sallese and Lt. Kellie Barhight, as well as guests and FPC members of various religious and spiritual traditions.

After an opening hymn, Police Chief Sallese spoke of his gratitude for the peaceful service creating a different memory of the house, having been one of the officers who found Ms. Goddard's body.

Guests and FPC members of various faith traditions then shared blessings, cleansing rituals, and words of peace from Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism, Earth-Centered Paganism, and Native American traditions, as well as a unison blessing from Unitarian Universalism. The unison blessing words were words used to bless the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church in Knoxville after the 2008 shooting and were adapted for FPC by the Rev. Chris Buice, senior minister of that Knoxville church. The Native American blessing included a smudging of the rooms with sage. Rev. Landrum states, "Nevaeh's 'Bonus Mom' Heather Coyne has shared that Neveah had an interest in Pagan spiritual teachings such as Wicca, tarot, and crystals, so we made sure to honor her with some of those teachings included."

As blessings were taken to all the rooms of the house, songs of peace and healing, including "Amazing Grace," "Love Will Guide Us," and "Dona Nobis Pacem," were sung together. People then gathered back together for closing words and a final song with words by Kenneth Patton: "The blessings of the earth and sky upon our friendly house do lie."

Prior to Monday's service, Fr. Jeffrey Archer from St. Isadore Parish in Stow performed a blessing service, sprinkling all the rooms of the house with holy water. And in a separate service, members of the FPC staff gathered with Rev. Landrum to say blessings and prayers and do a salt-based purification ritual.

Rev. Landrum said about the interfaith blessing services, "I hope that knowing this occurred will bring peace and joy to our community, the larger Stow community, and to any future inhabitants of this house. We left the house with blessings of hope, peace, joy, love, and faith."