A symbol of healing and connection is now installed at the memorial garden of the Easton Congregational Church next to its historic sanctuary. Known as a wind phone, it is a telephone placed in a quiet, contemplative space designed to support healing, memory, and connection for all who visit. These phones are “for anyone who feels the need to communicate with loved ones who have passed on,” shares the Peloso and Minasi families, who came together in support of this project after the grief and loss of their sons.
The first wind phone was created in 2010 by Japanese garden designer Itaru Sasaki in Ōtsuchi, Japan. After the death of a beloved cousin, Sasaki found solace in speaking to his relative using an old rotary phone installed in his garden. Though the phone had no connection, speaking into it gave him a means of processing his grief—words carried on the wind, hence the name.
A year later, the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami devastated Ōtsuchi, killing over 1,000 of its residents. As word spread about Sasaki’s wind phone, it quietly became a sacred site. Thousands of mourners traveled to the booth to speak with loved ones lost in the disaster. Their stories, whispered into the receiver, underscore the deep human need for connection—even after death.
Since then, the idea of the wind phone has resonated worldwide. Hundreds of replicas and adaptations have appeared in countries such as the United States, Canada, the UK, New Zealand, and beyond. Some are created to remember public tragedies, while others are personal projects or community installations meant to offer comfort and space for reflection.
Michele Peloso learned of the wind phone and visited the first one installed in Connecticut at the Ridgebury Congregational Church in Ridgefield. She described the experience of speaking to rather than about her loved one as incredibly “healing,” and the peace it brought motivated her “to share this with other grieving families.” Since these installations require a safe, private location for people to express themselves, Easton Congregational Church welcomed the Peloso and Minasi families to install this wind phone. Located in the church’s memorial garden, it is surrounded by perennial flowers and shaded by mature trees. The phone is housed in a small wooden enclosure mounted on a post beside a bench. A plaque above the phone reads: “This phone will never ring. It is connected by love to nowhere and everywhere. It is for those with an empty place in their heart left by a loved one. Say hello, say goodbye. Talk of the past, the present, the future. The wind phone will carry your message.”
Easton is now part of a global movement rooted in empathy, remembrance, and the healing power of words on the wind. While the Easton wind phone is dedicated to the memory of Joseph Anthony Peloso IV and Carlo Minasi, it is also installed in honor of long-time Congregational Church member Eunice Hanson, who strongly felt a wind phone in the Memorial Garden would offer solace to those struggling with grief in our community.
The Easton Congregational Wind Phone is open to the public during daylight hours and there will be a prayer and dedication ceremony Sunday, June 8th after the 10 am church service. Visitors of all faiths, traditions, and backgrounds are welcome. All those who wish to visit the wind phone, the memorial garden or the sanctuary are always welcome to park in the church lot.
