Pictures and videos of recent Wayland High School graduate Lauren Astley have covered newspapers and TV. Lauren’s death has shocked Wayland in a way no one could ever imagine. Lauren was a Muse and a tennis captain. She was known for her kindness, and her compassion; she had a smile that could brighten anyone’s day.

Lauren will be missed by family, friends, and the entire Wayland High School community.

UPDATE 7/16:

The First Parish Church has provided the following information about Lauren’s memorial service:

To the Wayland Community:

Lauren Astley’s memorial service is an extraordinary moment for the First Parish congregation and our town. As you can imagine, there are many needs that must be balanced, including the wishes of Lauren’s parents, the guidelines that the Police and Fire departments require us to follow, the very large number of people we expect will attend, and our physical space limitations. We want to share the plans with the families in the community in order to minimize any confusion or concerns on Saturday morning.

Parking
Traffic conditions on Saturday morning will be very difficult, and there is no adequate parking in the town center for the number of people who will want to
attend the service. For that reason, we encourage anyone who is within walking distance to travel on foot.

For those who need to drive, we are very grateful that several other congregations have offered their parking lots for our use. These include the Boston Islamic Center of Wayland, Camp Chickami and Shir Tikva (east of the town center), St. Ann’s church (south of the center) and the Trinitarian Congregational Church. The town will provide police traffic control and continuous shuttle bus service from the remote parking locations to the town center from 9:45 to 2:00.

Parking at First Parish will be limited to members of the Dunne and Astley families and participants in the service. Therefore, there will be no parking
available at First Parish that day.

Seating
Seating for the service will be at three locations:

The Trinitarian Congregational Church for townspeople, the high school youth, and the Wayland School Department and town staff.

The Sanctuary of First Parish (which will be fully occupied by the Dunne and Astley family and friends)

The Vestry of First Parish (limited seating reserved for members of the First Parish congregation)

Visual and audio transmission of the memorial service will be provided to all locations so that attendees can participate in the worship service. The audio only will be projected outside First Parish for those who choose to remain outside.

Wayland youth who choose to attend the service are especially invited to sit together at the Trinitarian Congregational Church in the community room space.
There will be special guest books available for the youth to sign either before or after the service.

All are welcome and encouraged to attend the service.

UPDATE:

Coral ribbons can be purchased at Russell’s Garden Center for $3.29. These ribbons can be hung on mailboxes or trees in your yard to honor Lauren. Coral was Lauren’s favorite color.

Information about donating to The Lauren Dunne Astley Memorial Fund whose mission is the promotion of dynamic educational programs, particularly those in the areas of development of healthy teen relationships, the arts, and community service, can be found at the WaylandeNews link posted here.

Ongoing resources are available at:

The Wayland Youth and Family Services and Human Relations Service: ((508-358-4293)

Human Relations Service (781-235-4950/4990)