 Image via Pexels An Essential Guide to Pre-Planning Your FuneralInitiating conversations about pre-planning a funeral might seem daunting, but it's an essential and responsible step toward ensuring your wishes are honored. It also eases the burden on your loved ones during an emotionally challenging time. By approaching this process with practicality and openness, you can ensure that your final journey reflects your preferences while providing your family with clarity and direction. If you’re looking for help getting started, this guide shared by My Grief Connection can point you in the right direction. Breaking the Ice The first and perhaps most important step in pre-planning a funeral is initiating an open conversation about your end-of-life preferences with your loved ones. This step ensures that everyone is on the same page and understands your wishes. Address any concerns, answer questions, and make your intentions clear. This approach fosters understanding and helps avoid potential conflicts down the line. Exploring the Multitude of Funeral Options Take the time to research the various options available for your funeral arrangements. These can include traditional burial, cremation, and other alternatives. When making this decision, it is crucial to take into account your personal beliefs, practicalities, legal requirements, and environmental considerations. By considering all these factors, you can make an informed decision that aligns with your wishes and values, ensuring a meaningful farewell. Setting a Budget for Your Final Farewell Determining a budget for your funeral arrangements is a vital part of the pre-planning process. It allows you to consider all potential costs, including the ceremony, burial or cremation, and other related expenses. Take the time to explore cost-effective alternatives that align with your wishes without causing financial strain. By doing so, you can ensure a meaningful farewell that honors your life while providing peace of mind for your loved ones. Remember, planning ahead allows you to make thoughtful decisions and relieve the burden on your family during a difficult time. Your Life, Your Rules Once you have made your choices, it is important to put your funeral preferences in writing. This document should provide clear guidance for your loved ones when the time comes, ensuring that your wishes are respected. Be sure to include details such as the type of ceremony, location, music, readings, and any other specific requests you may have. Taking the time to document your preferences will give you peace of mind and help alleviate the burden on your loved ones during an already difficult time. Selecting a Trusted Executor for Your Wishes Choose a trusted family member or friend who can be entrusted to carry out your wishes. Keep them informed about your plans, provide them access to necessary documentation, and discuss any updates or changes as they arise. This person will play an essential role in ensuring your wishes are fulfilled and providing peace of mind for you and your loved ones. Their support and understanding can make a significant difference during challenging times. Ease the Burden Prepayment plans or funeral insurance policies are worth considering as they can alleviate the financial strain on your family following your departure. Make sure to understand the terms, conditions, and potential benefits of these prepayment arrangements before making a decision. Additionally, seeking advice from a financial professional can help you assess the best options for your specific needs. Remember, planning ahead can provide peace of mind. Charitable Endeavors in Your Memory If you have a sizable estate, consider establishing charitable endeavors before your passing. This could involve setting up a nonprofit for a cause dear to you, using free online tools to establish a nonprofit corporation that provides limited liability protection. This act can leave a lasting legacy and provide a sense of purpose. Additionally, it allows you to make a meaningful impact on the causes you care about, ensuring that your values are carried forward even after you're gone. Taking a practical approach to pre-planning a funeral is a thoughtful gesture that provides peace of mind for both you and your loved ones. By initiating open conversations, researching options, setting a budget, documenting your preferences, and considering prepayment and charitable options, you can ensure that your final wishes are fulfilled while lessening the emotional and logistical burdens on your family. Remember, preparation is indeed a gift you give to yourself and your loved ones during a challenging time. For those seeking resources for dealing with loss and grief, visit My Grief Connection today. Guest Post By Charley Sunday
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6/16/2022 A Bartender, Hair Stylist, and Nail Technician Walk into a Funeral...Responding to Grief in Service Professions Webinar - 21 Jun 2022Read Now A Bartender, Hair Stylist, and Nail Technician Walk into a Funeral...
Responding to Grief in Service Professions Webinar Tuesday, June 21, 2022, at 6:00 PM EST When we think of professions that regularly interact with grieving people, we might think of healthcare workers, hospice employees, and funeral directors. Yet many service providers routinely find themselves in the thick of conversations about grief with little to no training on how to navigate these interactions. Join WPSU & Speaking Grief on Tuesday, June 21, 2022, at 6:00 PM EST for the webinar “A Bartender, Hair Stylist, and Nail Technician Walk into a Funeral...Responding to Grief in Service Professions.” Experts will share ideas for how to respond to grieving clients with compassion while still maintaining professional boundaries as well as what to do if your own grief is triggered by a client’s story. Hair stylist and Industry Educator Hunter Donia will moderate the discussion with our panelists: - Rachelle Bensoussan, M.A., CT, co-founder and managing director of Being Here, Human - Shelby Forsythia, intuitive grief guide and author of Your Grief, Your Way - Luis Resendez, LMFT, founder of Vida Emotional Wellness This event is for YOU, so they will also answer questions from the chat as time allows. This webinar is brought to you by Speaking Grief, a public media initiative working to create a more grief-aware society. Speaking Grief is produced by WPSU with philanthropic support from the New York Life Foundation. Register for this FREE event here: https://wpsumm.wufoo.com/forms/r169blyy1j4wm1q/ 2/2/2021 Spirit Vessel -Mindfully Crafted Ceramic Urns and Personalized Celebration Of Life CeremoniesRead Now Spirit Vessel
Spirit Vessel helps guide you and your loved ones through a deeper, more intimate layer of life by way of personalized ceremony. They provide support and tools for at home, intimate, personalized ceremonies, in which you can participate by yourself or with others. They offer Mindfully Crafted Ceramic Urns and Personalized Celebration Of Life Ceremonies to assist in grieving, honoring, and celebrating you or your loved one. Their ceremonies recognize and highlight the joy of our loved one's life while holding space for the complexities of grief for those left to live on. The Spirit Vessel studio is located in southwest New Mexico, where each ceramic urn is handmade and mindfully crafted with love and intention. Whether you are grieving the loss of a loved one, preparing for an imminent death, or taking steps to plan for your own death, they provide resources to help you create connectivity and integrate your emotions around loss. Discover more at: https://bit.ly/2YBrkJP  The New Funerals: A Virtual Town Hall Discussion
You are invited to a FREE digital event, Tuesday, June 23rd at 1pm EST! "The New Funerals: A Virtual Town Hall Discussion," hosted by Farewelling, as part of Reimagine Life, Loss & Love Worldwide Virtual Festival. Farewelling co-founders Elizabeth Karansky (funeral director, thanatologist & death doula) and Karen Bussen (internationally recognized events expert)will host this open conversation about how funerals are being transformed, by restrictions related to current events, but also by evolving attitudes around tradition, religion, and other factors. They will open up space to your experiences and opinions and will share resources and inspiration. Register at https://tinyurl.com/thenewfunerals 4/18/2020 The Widowed Parent Podcast: What You Can Do, When You Can't Have a Funeral During a Pandemic?Read Now The Widowed Parent Podcast: Ep. 67, Pandemic Special Episode
Buffy Peters of Hamilton's Academy of Grief and Loss, at Hamilton's Funeral Home in Des Moines, Iowa, and host Jenny Lisk speak about "What You Can Do, When You Can't Have a Funeral During a Pandemic?" https://www.jennylisk.com/podcast/wpp067 4/11/2020 The Tuesday People Podcast: Dying Alone & Postponing Funerals - How Death Takes a Hit During COVID-19Read Now The Tuesday People Podcast: Dying Alone & Postponing Funerals - How Death Takes a Hit During COVID-19
Nora Menkin, Executive Director of the People's Memorial Association and the Co-op Funeral Home in Seattle, WA, discusses how social distancing and the prohibiting of public gatherings has affected the funeral industry and, in turn, how people are able to grieve. https://www.mitchalbom.com/episode-23-dying-alone-postponing-funerals-how-death-takes-a-hit-during-covid-19/  Carved In Stone: Cemetery History & Symbolism
(20S-HIS-003) - $25 Registration Fee Tuesday, April 28, 2020 from 5:30 - 8:30 pm Cloverdale Funeral Home - Event Center Cloverdale Funeral Home, Cemetery and Creation 1200 North Cloverdale Road, Boise, Idaho 83713 Spend the evening with Cemetery Historian David Habben. Using hundreds of photos of grave stones taken by the instructor, you will learn the secret language of tomb stones. Learn how to interpret the cryptic emblems, signs & symbols found on grave stones. Many of our ancestors were illiterate. Signs and symbols are the universal language of grave stones. They tell us if the deceased was male or female; religious; belonged to a fraternal organization; was well loved; or even if he or she had a sense of humor, all without knowing how to read. We'll even discuss the history of cemeteries, burial customs, symbolism and even a little humor! https://www.facebook.com/events/132254448204011/ Register starting March 29, 2020 at https://www.boiselearns.org/wconnect/ShowSchedule.awp?&Mode=GROUP&Group=:FULL&Title=Complete+Listing  Who Lies Beneath - Famous People Buried in the Treasure Valley (20S-HIS-004) - $20 Registration Fee Tuesday, May 12, 2020 at 6:30 – 8:30 pm Cloverdale Funeral Home - Event Center Cloverdale Funeral Home, Cemetery and Creation 1200 North Cloverdale Road, Boise, Idaho 83713. The cemeteries of the Treasure Valley have thousands of residents. Each has their own story. Some famous, infamous, and some just plain interesting. The class is a virtual walking tour, with historian David Habben, of the cemeteries of Boise, the Treasure Valley, and even beyond in Idaho. But we don't have to worry about the weather or walking for miles! Some examples of the people discussed: a former governor of Idaho and the man who blew him up; the last professional lady bronc rider; the last man legally hanged in Idaho; the man who had the first house in the country heated with geothermal hot steam; the first Jewish governor in the U.S.; Idaho's James Bond; and Idaho's "Wyatt Earp." https://www.facebook.com/events/2830955303665700/ Register starting March 29, 2020 at https://www.boiselearns.org/wconnect/ShowSchedule.awp?&Mode=GROUP&Group=:FULL&Title=Complete+Listing  Cloverdale Funeral Home - Spring Grief Recovery Support Group
Saturdays, March 21, 2020 to May 16, 2020 from 10:00 am—12:00 pm Cloverdale Event Center—Garden Room Cloverdale Funeral Home, Cemetery and Creation, 1200 North Cloverdale Road, Boise, Idaho 83713 Contact them by phone at 208-375-2212 or email [email protected] to register or ask questions. https://www.facebook.com/events/1015032955564373/ --- |
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