Are you trying to plan a funeral service to honor the memory of a loved one?
If so, you’re likely overwhelmed with the planning involved with a funeral. How do you choose the right funeral home? What’s the best way to send the body off to the next life?
This quick guide will show you the basics of planning a funeral service. Let this be your light as you plan the funeral services to show your love for the deceased.
Here’s what you need to do:
Consider Cremation Services
A cremation is one of the best ways to let your loved one transition to the next life. A funeral home will prepare the body for cremation and then place it through a cremation chamber.
The ashes are then shared with the family, who can distribute it as they please. Ashes can be kept in an urn or throughout several urns. One can also scatter urns in the ocean or in a sacred river.
Prepare Details for an Obituary
Before the funeral services, you want to announce to your community that the person has died. You want to hire an obituary writer to write a great piece that celebrates the person’s life and achievements.
You can choose to either publish this obituary in your local newspaper or print it out to share with funeral attendees.
Make sure you run the obituary by the family before you publish it. Obituaries can often become controversial as they might reveal details about the person which might embarrass the family.
To avoid such issues, you must consult with the family to determine what they’d like to conceal from the obituary.
Traditions and Rituals
Make sure you inform the funeral attendees about any potential traditions and rituals that’ll be upheld at the funeral services. This lets your attendees prepare beforehand.
You might want to inform about a dress code, especially if the attendees are going to be from diverse backgrounds. For Christian funerals, it’s often common for attendees to wear black. For Hindu funerals, wearing white and dressing simply is more commonplace.
You might also have to teach some members about different rituals. For example, you might want to recite The Lord’s Prayer at the funeral. Consider printing out the words of the prayer for non-Christian attendees.
It’s best to have a group of family members who can guide the attendees and inform them about how to adhere to the traditions and rituals for the funeral.
Arrange Your Funeral Services
Now you can arrange your funeral services to help the deceased transition to the next life.
You should consider cremation services for the deceased. This helps you distribute the ashes to the family as you see fit. It’s also a more affordable and environmentally-friendly alternative to burial.
Next, you want to prepare details for an obituary. You must consult family members to ensure that there are no issues that would cause them embarrassment. Make sure you also help attendees with the traditions and rituals for the funeral services.