– T.S. Elliott
Where families can go for answers.
Print and share this planning guide with family, friends and your funeral director as you finalize your plans.
Meaningful Funerals
The funeral ceremony allows us to say hello on the pathway to goodbye. As you enter into the planning process, you may find it helpful to remind yourself why we have funerals. For thousands of years, funerals have been a means of expressing our beliefs, thoughts and feelings about the death of someone we love.
Meaningful funeral ceremonies make a significant difference in how families channel their grief toward health and healing. During the funeral, the community comes together and responds to the reality that someone has died, and also to the reality that those remaining will need support, compassion, love, hope, and understanding. The funeral encourages you to think about the person who has died and to explore the meaning of their life and the ways in which they touched the lives of others.
The remembering, reflecting and choices that take place in the planning and carrying out of the funeral service are often an important part of the process of grief and mourning. And ultimately, this process of contemplation and discovery creates a memorable and moving funeral experience for all who attend.
Why Have a Funeral? What Makes a Funeral Meaningful? What is the Role of the Funeral Home?
