Educational Articles
Top Non-Religious Rituals for Celebrations of Life
One of the best parts of being a Funeral Celebrant is helping families think of Rituals for the Ceremony. Some of these create interaction with the guests attending. Words and music are important; however, the Rituals are something visual that almost everyone remembers. People will often comment, “I have never seen ...
Continue ReadingSnapchat filters for funerals? Yes, that's really a thing
Aaron Robinson/CNET BY ALFRED NG for CNET, SEPTEMBER 22, 2017 Snapchat geofilters are normally for birthdays and weddings. But people are making them for funerals, too. A somber mood enveloped Stephenie Buchanan's family after her brother Tarrence's funeral. Following the service in May, family and friends gathered in a hall to celebrate ...
Continue ReadingWhat to do When Someone Dies
To a lot of people, death seems scary. The vast majority of Americans (around 80%) die in hospitals and nursing homes rather than at home, in part because it seems easier to leave death in the hands of medical professionals than to handle the end-of-life process ourselves. In reality, a ...
Continue ReadingConsumer Guide to Understanding Final Expense Insurance
Final expense insurance is one of several options for preplanning and paying for a funeral or memorial. Though there is a lot of information on the internet about final expense insurance, it can still seem overwhelming and confusing. If you’re wondering if it’s a good option for you, we’ve asked ...
Continue ReadingWhich Flowers Are Best?
Sending flowers as a sentiment of sympathy is a tradition that dates back many years. Whether a loved one passes away, an old friend becomes ill, or a coworker experiences a loss, sending flowers to express your sympathy may feel like the ‘right’ thing to do. But what do you ...
Continue ReadingWhy Pre-Plan Your Funeral?
There are many benefits to planning ahead for our major life milestones. We plan weddings to celebrate love, baby showers to celebrate new life, birthday parties to acknowledge how we’ve grown, and even anniversaries to recognize continued achievements. However, there’s one life event that many people don’t even like to ...
Continue ReadingNFDA Consumer Survey: Funeral Planning Not a Priority for Americans
The National Funeral Directors Association’s 2017 Consumer Awareness and Preferences Study Reveals Inconsistency in Funeral Planning Practices For the fifth consecutive year, the National Funeral Directors Association’s (NFDA) annual Consumer Awareness and Preferences Study indicates that consumers acknowledge the importance of preplanning their own funeral, but fail to do so in practice. This ...
Continue ReadingChicago Archdiocese opens first cremation garden in a cemetery
By Maya Brachear Pashman for the Chicago Tribune Amid the sound of cascading water, Claire Thom and her sister Lori Van Buren ambled through a maze of orange day lilies, bronze markers, maple trees and granite benches Monday in search of their parents' final resting place. Their father, Edmund Sylwestrak, ...
Continue ReadingVermont man's home burglarized while he attends wife's funeral
By Crimesider Staff for CBS News HYDE PARK, Vt. — Burglars targeted the Vermont home of an 82-year-old man while he was attending the funeral for his wife of 59 years over the weekend. Carl Fortune said that whoever burglarized his Hyde Park house during the day on a busy Vermont ...
Continue ReadingIllinois Catholic Bishop decrees no Holy Communion, funerals for same-sex couples
By Susan Hogan for The Washington Post The bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Springfield, Ill., is calling on priests there to deny Holy Communion and even funeral rites to people in same-sex unions unless they show “some signs of repentance” for their relationships before death. The decree by Bishop Thomas Paprocki also ...
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