Posts Tagged ‘funeral services’

How to Officiate a Funeral

Monday, April 9th, 2012

Nine times out of ten, funeral plans call for a religious official or funeral home director to oversee the proceedings at a memorial service. Although there are no rules about who can or can’t officiate a funeral, it is usually best to have someone who can provide comfort without breaking down in the face of such a sudden loss.

However, this doesn’t mean that you can’t opt to officiate a funeral on your own. If you would like to feel a deeper connection to the funeral planning process, or if you have a history of public speaking and would like to ensure that the funeral has a personal touch that everyone can connect to, you may wish to be in charge of the service yourself. If this is the case, here are a few steps for planning the ceremony.

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Women and Funeral Planning

Friday, April 6th, 2012

When it comes to traditional financial planning, the majority of long-term fiscal decisions are made by men. For years, financial professionals have been trying to create specialized programs that focus on women and how they can plan for retirement or life after the loss of a spouse.

Funeral planning, on the other hand, is a process that has long been dominated by women. In fact, an estimated two-thirds of funerals are planned and paid for by women—usually because a wife outlives her husband, and is called upon to determine how to best lay her spouse to rest. Adult female children are also the ones most likely to act as caretakers for their aging parents, so the task of funeral planning often falls to them.

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Funeral Planning: Moments of Silence

Friday, March 30th, 2012

One of the memorial service options that appears in almost all funeral plans, regardless of religious or personal preference, is the moment of silence. Defined as a period of silent contemplation (ranging from one to ten minutes), this time is used for everything from personal reflection and prayer to meditation. In funeral planning, it can be part of the decision-making process, memorial service, burial, ash scattering, or any other ceremony that comes with emotional weightiness.

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Why You Should Pre-Plan Your Funeral if You Want to Be Cremated

Wednesday, March 28th, 2012

Funeral planning is one of the most personal and difficult things that anyone undertakes. It doesn’t matter whether it’s the funeral of a parent, a child, a brother, or a spouse—making the decisions that will lay your loved one to rest for all of eternity is something no one can be prepared to face.

Funeral traditions, those often somber practices that include ornate caskets, reverent music, and religious eulogies, exist to help those decisions become easier to make. There is a small measure of comfort to be derived from knowing that your loved one is following the same path that millions of people have traversed before.

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What is a Home Funeral?

Thursday, March 15th, 2012

When it comes to funeral planning, the modern consumer has more options than ever before. From cremation and green burial to traditional interment, there is a ceremony for every type of person—and every budget.

Those hoping to reduce funeral costs even more—and to put the focus back on family—have one more option: the home funeral. Once the only way to say goodbye to those we love, a home funeral is exactly what the name suggests. Instead of having a memorial service at a funeral home and burying the deceased in a cemetery, the entire process takes place at home.

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Is It Wrong for a Funeral Home to Market its Services?

Wednesday, March 14th, 2012

Most people have strong opinions when it comes to funeral planning and choosing the right funeral home. No one wants to feel like just another number, or to have their loved ones treated callously or in any way that isn’t tender and respectful—and that is a completely justified expectation. Even though funeral homes are a business, they are also an important part of the grieving process and of the community as a whole.

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Funerals and the Baby Boomer Generation

Saturday, March 10th, 2012

It comes as no surprise for most people to discover that funeral planning traditions stem from the lives and viewpoints of older generations. The reason so many of the services offered through a funeral home are geared toward those with conservative views is that the largest percentage of their clientele is part of an aging population.

As Baby Boomers move to the forefront in terms of funeral pre-plans, and start organizing memorial services for their parents, themselves, and loved ones, there will be a shift away from many of the tried-and-true methods of the past.

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What is Natural Burial?

Thursday, March 8th, 2012

In an age when green funerals and funeral planning on a budget are on everyone’s lips, people are beginning to question the need for so many different containers and preparations for the disposal of a body. We researched into why natural burial, a solution in which very few preparations are made and the body is laid to rest directly within the soil of the earth, is one of the most common answers.

How Burial Works

Traditionally, the body of a loved one is embalmed before being placed in a casket, which is then lowered into a grave that contains a grave liner or vault. These various “layers” between the body of the deceased and the ground cannot stop the natural process of decomposition, but they do slow it down and also provide some comfort to families who wish to preserve their memories of the deceased.

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What to Do if There isn’t a Funeral Home in Your Area

Monday, March 5th, 2012

When most people talk about funeral planning, they assume that you (or your loved ones) live in a city where funeral services are readily available. All metropolitan centers and mid-sized cities have several funeral homes to choose from, usually in a variety of religious denominations. However, as towns get smaller and more rural, there is a chance that your town won’t have a funeral home, a cemetery, a crematorium, or any other type of facility that can help you with the funeral planning process.

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What to Do if You Can’t Afford a Funeral

Wednesday, February 22nd, 2012

For all the benefits of advance funeral planning, burial insurance, and the affordability of options like direct cremation, death is still a very costly affair. In fact, for some families, it’s too costly—and that’s when funeral planning can become a real problem. Although it isn’t something people like to think about (either in relation to their own life or in others), there are occasions in which it simply isn’t possible to pay for a funeral.

While this situation isn’t ideal, it doesn’t mean that you don’t have options. Government and church organizations exist to provide support, and you may be able to find a financing option that suits your lifestyle. If you are getting ready to plan a funeral and don’t have the available funds to cover it all, here are a few of the choices you face:

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Posts Tagged ‘funeral services’

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