LEWISTON — Maine poet Pearl Tibbetts Sawyer honored the service of Beacon Hospice volunteers and staff with a private reading from her seventh poetry book “Bread” on Nov. 14.

Following the reading, lunch was served during which an informal question and answer session with the poet took place. Each attendee was given a journal to do some creative writing of their own.

Hospice volunteering is a solitary form of service often undertaken by folks who tend to be somewhat reflective, according to Elizabeth Herrick, RN, volunteer coordinator for Beacon Hospice. It is important to offer volunteers a supportive environment in which they can process and express the emotions associated with their service of companioning people at the end of life, she said.

As each participant shared their writing, the common thread in each piece was gratitude to the patients and families for the privilege of being invited to serve them. Volunteers will invariably say they receive more from companioning their patients than they give.

Beacon Hospice is a Medicare certified, state of Maine licensed, CHAP accredited hospice serving more that 1,100 patients daily around New England. The Lewiston office serves Androscoggin, Oxford and Northern Cumberland County. For more information about hospice or becoming a hospice volunteer, contact Herrick at 1-800-981-4635.