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“Funeral”

26 02, 2014

So, What’s a Celebrant?

By | 2014-02-26T00:22:08-08:00 February 26th, 2014|Ceremonies, Inspiration, Planning Ahead|47 Comments

  Last year I had never heard of a Celebrant. A what? What do they do? Sounds weird. Last week I walked into a room with 20 strangers, all there to learn about how to make a funeral personal & each life meaningful. When I was told that on the last day of training I would have to present a eulogy I had written for a fictitious person I felt overwhelmed, "How in the world will I do that?" I wondered. After 2 days of full training we were split into groups and given a situation to create a service [...]

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28 08, 2013

“How Do You Handle Working at a Mortuary?” | A Labor Day Special

By | 2013-08-28T05:00:14-07:00 August 28th, 2013|General|21 Comments

I often wondered what Labor Day was as a kid, what did I care, I got time off from school was my thinking. As I got older I began to understand the reasoning behind the three-day weekend. Other then the unofficial end-of-summer, this day was a chance to stop and celebrate the everyday heroes of this country. This country was not built by the Rockefellers or the Carnegies, it was built on the backs of the everyday laborer. These are the people that sacrifice for their families and their country to work as a team, to build or do something [...]

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14 08, 2013

“So, Who Was the Funeral For?” | Creating Sacred Moments

By | 2013-08-14T05:00:08-07:00 August 14th, 2013|Ceremonies, Planning Ahead|29 Comments

  I recently attended a service where the officiant said, “funerals aren’t for the person who died, they are for the living.” I initially disliked this idea, feeling that it sounded vastly self-serving at a time that was set-aside for someone who had died. This same officiant then proceeded to talk about himself and his own grief experiences, sharing almost nothing about the person who had died. My mind drifted off until a slideshow began playing and jogged me back to why I was there. This officiant’s failure made a sad event even worse. The service he performed wasn’t for [...]

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24 07, 2013

Diversity in Death: Lessons Learned from A Giant, 2 Families, and a Hare Krishna

By | 2013-07-24T05:05:48-07:00 July 24th, 2013|Ceremonies|14 Comments

Diversity is a constant in life. It teaches us how to be flexible under stress, to appreciate ourselves and each other. Diversity tells us that it’s OK to be curious and ask questions, to live and let live. Diversity isn’t always drastic. Subtle diversity can yield the greatest experiences. But is there diversity in death?  Absolutely! I have served almost every kind of family you can think of in my 9 short years as a mortician. Families of strong faith and atheists, wealthy families and poor ones, families that can populate a small city and individuals who are the last [...]

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3 04, 2013

Why Too Many Funerals Aren’t Worth Going To (& How To Fix That!)

By | 2013-04-03T05:00:30-07:00 April 3rd, 2013|General, Planning Ahead|3 Comments

  Photo Credit: www.typohgram.com If you’ve ever attended one of Dr. Bill Hoy’s seminars, you’ve inevitably heard about the importance of ceremony, how he attends every funeral he can, and why he thinks funerals are so important. Most of us are probably not as enthusiastic as Dr. Hoy when it comes to planning, much less attending a funeral. Well, why do you think that is? I’ll tell you what I think. I think it’s because the funeral profession has been doing funerals badly for a very long time. Think about it, go back to the last funeral you [...]

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30 12, 2011

Happy New Year: The Importance of Preparation

By | 2017-12-18T08:50:37-08:00 December 30th, 2011|Planning Ahead|14 Comments

As we all prepare for a New Year, I’m reminded of the importance of preparation. I’d venture to say that all of us, in one way or another, are prepared for some things and not prepared for other things. For me, I like to be prepared when I go on vacation. You may love to be prepared when company comes over or preparing for a special date. When we’re prepared, we position ourselves to handle the inevitable challenges that come in life. […]

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