As a support group, we are always by the parents’ and their relatives’ side, who have to let their child leave for the stars before, during or shortly after birth. We call these children Sternenkinder, or star children. We look after all parents who give birth at the Saarland University Medical Center (UKS) in Homburg, even if they are not from Homburg or the surrounding area.
Sternenkinder Homburg is a support group that is affiliated with INITIATIVE Regenbogen e.V. and works closely with the Saarland University Medical Center (UKS), in particular with the women’s clinic, the clinic chaplaincy and the pathological institute.
We are committed volunteers, most of whom are themselves parents of one or more star children and who would like to support parents of star children and their families in every phase of their grief, even over a period of years. The parents receive active support and pastoral support from us if they wish. We create opportunities for mutual exchange in a group where everyone has suffered the same kind of loss – we are all parents of one or more star children.
We were recently nominated for the 2021 Saarland Self-Help Award of the German Statutory Health Insurance Funds. The award is given every two years as part of Saarland Self-Help Day. Although we did not win, it was a great honor for us to have been considered as a candidate.
The group meeting takes place at the rectory or the parish hall of St. Fronleichnam, Ringstrasse 50, 66424 Homburg at 6:30 pm every first Friday of the month. Please register in advance by telephone by calling Andrea or Marilyn.
All parents of star children are very welcome, regardless of whether their loss is very recent or already happened years ago. If you don’t wish to join the group right now but still want to talk, please call Andrea or Marilyn and talk to them about all the possibilities – in English, of course.
Every year on the last Sunday in June and the Sunday before the 1st Sunday of Advent, the communal burial of star children with a birth weight of under 500 grams takes place at the star children’s burial ground in Homburg. The parents who have registered their child for this burial with Saarland University Medical Centre (UKS) will be invited to the funeral service, followed by the burial, if they so wish.
We work as a team of volunteers motivated by our desire not to leave parents alone in a difficult situation. For this, we are dependent on support, both financially and through practical help. There are various ways in which people can support our private initiative.
We are always happy to receive donations in kind, for example in the form of (wedding) dresses that are no longer needed but have been cleaned, or other fabrics that are childlike and appropriate for the occasion, or donations of handicraft materials.
We would like to thank everyone who has contributed to our donation account or who has already donated so that we can continue our work.
Evangelische Klinik-Seelsorge
Purpose: Donation to Sternenkinder Homburg
IBAN: DE 09 5945 0010 1010 2869 77
We can issue a donation receipt.
We would like to take this opportunity to express our heartfelt thanks to all supporters in advance!
Help for Sternenkinder Homburg and the parents can come in many forms. An open conversation, a hug, but also very practical help in everyday life or when saying goodbye. We would like to take this opportunity to expressly thank all official and unofficial helpers and „kind souls“ who assist our parents to the best of their abilities!
The work of Sternenkinder Homburg depends on the commitment, help, and support of many people who stand by the parents of star children during their period of grief. We would like to introduce and recommend our partners in the following.
Burial is compulsory in Saarland and Rhineland-Palatinate for children born alive or stillborn weighing 500 g or more. In addition, we support the parents of children who fall below this weight limit in clarifying what is necessary for a burial in their own grave or in another star children’s burial field, if parents wish so. We work with funeral directors who care as much about star children as we do when it comes to the funeral and the funeral service.
For pastoral questions, we work closely with the pastoral staff at the University Medical Center. You are welcome to contact them at any time.
The children who died are kept at the pathology department of the University Medical Center until they are buried. Parents are always able to visit them there and to say goodbye before they are buried. Please contact our colleague Birgit in this regard.
Most star children are born at the women’s clinic at the University Medical Center in Homburg. This is where you will also find the initial advice and information about our support group.
Andrea Heisler
Sternenkinder Homburg
Support group at Saarland University Medical Center (UKS)
Protestant clinic chaplaincy
Saarland University Medical Center
Building 31
66421 Homburg/Saar
Tel.: 06841 1627450
Email: andrea@sternenkinder-homburg.de