Two Types of Funeral Homes and Their Services

Funeral events involve the most important step, i.e. disposing the body and this disposing is done in different forms based in cultural, religious and personal requirements. It is because of this that you have to choose a funeral home very carefully and particularly the one holding expertise in your kind of disposal.

As far as funeral homes are concerned, they can now be classified on the basis of different factors and at the time of selection, their proximity, the services they offer and several similar things have to be considered.

Purpose and Characteristics of Funeral Home Types–

In several countries across the globe, it has been witnessed that funeral homes near me serve a particular community or the people belonging to a particular faith, religion or belief.

This can be counted as an evolution that funeral homes have witnessed along with one more, i.e. the type of disposing services offered by them. Generally, these funeral homes mostly have these services of embalming, body refrigeration and other services required during a funeral event.

The most common types of funeral homes include full-service funeral home, independent funeral director, cemetery-funeral home combination, crematory-funeral home combination, and religious funeral providers.

Common Funeral Home Types–

Different kinds of funeral homes are there and we have discussed details of some of them here.

A Full-Service Funeral Home–

• This kind of funeral home near me is a full-service facility that can offer services ranging from care of the body to its final disposal and all others under one roof.
• There is also a chapel that they use for services like any visitation, funeral and/or memorial services as well as on-site preparation facilities.
• Several services are offered by them and the main ones are bathing, dressing, refrigeration and embalming and some of them can even arrange catering services for the guests at the event.

Independent Funeral Directors–

• They are basically certified independent funeral directors who don’t have any command or control over any funeral home near me.
• They can help you by outsourcing the entire funeral event and by coordinating as well as monitoring the burial process.

Top Two Mistakes to Avoid In Funeral Planning Process

Planning a funeral ceremony or a memorial event is not an easy thing at all especially in situations when a family has just suffered from a loss of a loved one. In such situations, the assistance given by the chosen funeral home can be very helpful and in fact, only this way, you can avoid some mistakes. Yes, DIY is not possible at all because the family expects to follow all the religious rituals, etc. and this is why it is always recommended to seek the services of a reputed funeral home.

Here in this post, we take a look at some mistakes that family commits as far as funeral planning is concerned.

Mistake 1- Not Exploring Funeral Providers

One mistake that families often commit is that they continue sticking to the funeral home that has been offering its services to the family since yesteryears. According to the experts, this is something you need to get rid of and before committing to any funeral home, you should always shortlist some of them and research on the best funeral home near me.
Taking time to compare funeral providers in your area might save you money and help you locate “the best” funeral home, crematory or cemetery for your needs.

Mistake 2 : Not Asking Questions

The loss of a loved one in a family is certainly a great loss for the family, but then, the family has to stay in senses whole searching for the best service provider. This means short listing some after careful research about them on the Internet. This also involves interviewing them thoroughly and place as many questions as possible to find more and more about them and their services. This will give them an opportunity to reveal more and more about themselves and this way, you will also get more familiar with their services.

Read Also : Top Three Kinds of Funeral Services Offered By Funeral Homes

Methods of Showing Sympathy during COVID-19 Pandemic Scenario

Covid 19 has influenced our lives in all the possible ways and we have now become used to with this new normal. However, things become somewhat tough during the passing away of a loved one because in these situations, often hugs and grieving become very effective, but as said above, keeping social distancing factor in mind, it could become really tough at the funeral home near me to show love, respect and condolence to the bereaved family.

However, there are some useful tips that you can use to make sure that you make your presence felt at the funeral ceremony at the funeral home.

Get Creative with Communication–

• Because lockdown is there, followed by the golden rule of social distancing, this might not be possible for you to personally visit the grieving family.
• In such situation, sending a sympathy card via an e-mail can be a really useful option to let the bereaving family know that you are as depressed as they are on the loss of the loved one.
• Alternatively, you can do the same with the help of the website of the funeral hone chosen by the bereaving family and send your sympathy message directly to the funeral director.
• There are options to view tribute videos and also of sending condolences straight to the family of the deceased.

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Have Flowers or a Meal Delivered–

• Depending upon the time, you can even make your presence felt by ordering some flowers to be delivered to the bereaving family or directly to the funeral home.
• Flowers have always been a really impressive way to show you care and bring a bit of hope to a challenging time.
• Then, there is another, a bit unconventional idea of delivering home-cooked food to the family to relieve some stress “off” their heads.
• During these Covid-19 days, several restaurants have adopted creative methods to ensure safe practices and limit in-person contact.

Top Three Kinds of Funeral Services Offered By Funeral Homes

Since people are different and so are their religious beliefs, it is obvious that their ceremonial methods too would differ a lot. This includes the rituals to be carried out after the death of someone. This is the reason why a funeral home should be hired straightaway because they hold expertise in all kinds of funeral ceremonies of different religions and beliefs.

Based on your requirement, they can offer one of the following types of funeral services.

Traditional Religious Funeral Service:

• The traditional style of funeral would mainly include a series of ceremonies and the main one is the visitation that includes viewing of the body in the casket.
• During this ceremony, the religious leader chosen by the funeral home near me will conduct the funeral, which can include prayers, music and songs, and eulogies.

Keep Reading: Funeral Directors Tell Two Pre-Planning Mistakes to Avoid

Non-religious Humanist Funeral Service:

• This one is almost identical to the one discussed above, but the only difference in this kind of service is that throughout the ceremony, no god is referred to or any such religious rituals or belief.
• This type of ceremony mainly includes celebrating the life of the deceased, thanking him for everything and telling him that we love you and you’ll be missed.
• The main focus of this type of ceremony organised at a funeral home is to offer tribute to the deceased and telling him that you’ll be missed for the rest of your life.
• The service may also include a moment of silence, allowing attendees to reflect on the life of the celebrant.
• According to the experts, this kind of ceremony is an ideal choice for families who consider all religions equal and also for those having intimate memories of his or her life shared during the service.

Read more: Tips for Finding Funeral Directors to Help in Cremation Services

Direct Cremation Service:

• In this type of ceremony, the visitation is not done beforehand and the body is disposed at the crematory.
• This is a very affordable method of funeral ad growing enormously in popularity because of several reasons related to the environment.

Top Reasons Why Burial Services Are Still Very Popular

There is an option of cremating the body of the deceased after the soul has left. This method of disposal is getting huge attention these days saying that it’s an affordable option, a greener option and time-saving one as well.

All these things may be true, but they certainly cannot suppress the popularity of burial services.

Yes, burial services have their own share of benefits as opposed to cremation and other options and here in this post, we will have a look at some of them.

A Traditional Way to Say “Goodbye”-

• You may agree or not, but the fact is that for centuries and centuries, this has been the most preferred method of saying “good-bye” to the deceased.
• This is generally an honour, a respect that you show to your loved one and because it is an age-old method, it has still remained a preferred one in the western world.

Permanent Gravesite to Visit-

• According to those involved in offering burial services near my location, these services are better because you always have a place, where you can visit the deceased.

• This place is given different names like graveside, mausoleum, etc. and it can be visited whenever you miss the loved one too much.
• In some religions, visiting the grave at the cemetery is considered by some to be a sacred event and allows them to feel a connection to their loved one during their visit.

Follows Religious Requirements-

• A very strong reason that has kept this method the most preferred one is the religion connections.
• Yes, in some religions, any other body disposal method is prohibited and only burial is recommended.
• This means that if the funeral event is religion-based, the family will have no other option than to follow what’s said in sacred scriptures and go with burial services.
• Jewish families and those practicing Islamic traditions also have strong religious and social commitments to burial.

You can check here where Funeral Directors serve in Sydney .View List suburbs of Sydney.

NON-RELIGIOUS FUNERALS SERVICE AND THE CONCEPT BEHIND IT

Civil or non-religious funerals are a perfect opportunity for friends and families to remember the deceased and to mourn or celebrate the life of the deceased.

This concept is slowing getting more and more popular but experts say that to get the best out of it, you will first have to understand the concept of non-religious funerals and the reasons behind its popularity.

Only then, it is possible that you will be able to get the fullest worth out of the investment.

What Is A Civil Or Non-Religious Funerals Service?

• According to the experts of non-religious funerals services, this ceremony is held with the goal of remembering the loved one who has just passed away.
• However, the different point her is that in this type of event, no religious traditions or belief, ideologies are followed.
• This means that in non-religious funerals, the religious belief of the person who has passed away is followed.
• But here too, the entire focus is on the belief and life of the person being remembered or celebrated, and their family and friends.

When Should Civil Or Non-Religious Funerals Service Be Held?

• As an answer to this question, every funeral director will say that this service can be held before or after the person’s final committal.

Where can a civil funeral service be held?

• Experts from different funeral homes say that this service can be held burial sites that are often referred to as ‘chapels’, crematoria venues, etc.
• There are numerous other places, where this event of non-religious funerals can be held and not to mention, the funeral homes too are an ideal location for these funeral ceremonies.

What’s included?

• The fact is that there are no religious processes or traditions included, but this could generally include blessings, prayers or hymns.
• Then, there is always a liberty of using all the creative and alternative ideas for the funeral service and you don’t have to stick to any set customs or rituals.
• These non-religious funerals can include the songs, words, music and other tributes that reflect the life of the person who died, but won’t include prayers or hymns.

Some Crucial Tips for Choosing and Using Pre-Paid Funerals Plans

Upon getting in touch with the staff of a funeral home, you will come across a w whole plethora of pre-arranged funeral services. Now the point is that those looking to make money will try and convince you to avail all of them as this way, they will be in profit.

However, you need to be very selective and ensure that you get only those needed by you rather than opting for a particular package made by them.

In fact, the rules too say that you have the right to get only the services needed by you rather than the entire package.

However, there are some tips for choosing and using pre-paid funeral plans and here in this post,

we have a look at some of them. These tips are basically the questions to ask to the funeral homes and some of them are –

Does the plan allow you to choose your funeral director?

• According to the experts of pre-arranged funeral services, a good funeral plan allows you to make this choice.
• Other than this, you need to ensure that the plans offered to you include a contribution to third party costs and this could also include disbursements.
• This would mainly include the fee of the doctor or the minister and here, an important thing to know is that these costs are outside the fee of the funeral director.
• Experts say that if the plans offered too you are restricting you from making contributions to the third party fees, you will have to rethink about choosing it.

Where Is Your Payment Held?

• According to the experts of pre-arranged funeral services, you need to make sure that the money is fully secure.
• Experts say that you need to further ask as to what if the funeral director goes out of the business or what if the person dies abroad.
• Furthermore, as a user, you also need to check whether you are able to transfer your plan to a new funeral director.
• You should check carefully that you have the appropriate level of cover depending on your travel needs.

UNDERSTAND THE NORMS OF CATHOLIC CREMATIONS

Upon going through the preferences of a catholic church, you will come across a whole new aspect that they keep in related to funerals of the last ceremony of a person’s life.

You will see that in a majority of options, they prefer in-ground burial at catholic cemeteries or even an entombment of the deceased person’s body. But in the past few years, things have changed swiftly and people have started getting inclined towards catholic cremations as well.

The main reason is the fact that it is a less time consuming option as well as a more affordable one too.

However, a number of things are to be kept in mind while preferring this option and they have been discussed here in this post.

Burial Items Required for a Catholic Cremation:

If you believe that burial is the best option, you will have to look for one of the most reliable catholic cemeteries in Penrith. Other than this, a number of other burial items would be required and the list starts from here.

Gravesite:

• (The space or plot within a cemetery) or mausoleum (private or public structure interring multiple people)

Urn

• The vessel to house the cremated remains

Vault

• A concrete enclosure that serves to protect the urn and also provides safe footing for visitors

Opening-and-closing service

• You will require an opening of a gravesite fir burial and then, back-filling would also be needed for the same site.
• Then, some landscaping would be needed to restore the appearance of a gravesite.
• Something similar would be required for interment in a mausoleum.

An interesting fact regarding this method is that it will lower the cost of cremation service significantly and you will simply have to get in touch with one of the best catholic cemeteries for this.

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Some Norms for Funeral Rites with Catholic Cremation:

• According to reputed funeral directors, the cremated remains are to be buried in a cemetery
• The alternative to this is entombment in a mausoleum or columbarium (cf. OCF, no. 417)
• Experts say that it is not permitted at all to scatter the cremation remains

USEFUL TIPS RELATED TO THE SELECTION OF FUNERAL MUSIC

There was a time when selecting funeral music meant that you will have to look at the playlist provided by the chosen funeral home.

However, things have changed drastically and because funeral homes have started offering tailor-made services, the options in terms of funeral music have increased a lot.

Now the funeral music can of the choice of the family member or it could be the music or songs that the deceased used to hear the most.

But still, there are a number of things to keep in mind while choosing the funeral music and here are some of them.

FIVE TIPS FOR SELECTING FUNERAL MUSIC OR SONGS:

Think About The Person You Are Memorializing:

• As said above, this happens to be easiest method of selecting funeral music or songs as in this case; you will simply have to remind yourself about the music that the deceased used to hear the most.
• Because the time has changed, one good thing has happened is that the funeral music you select does not have to be traditional “funeral music”.
• Alternatively, you can choose anything that you think will honour the deceased and the same is the case with funeral stationery too.

Decide What Type Of Tone You Would Like To Set

• Choosing funeral music for a funeral event can become simple by one one more method that you simply have to listen to the songs you are considering with that in mind.
• Depending upon the mood that you want to set during the event, you can choose the funeral music accordingly.

Consult With Family Members

• Yes, this is another method that would simplify the entire process of choosing, not just the funeral music, but also the funeral stationery.
• Being the family members of the deceased, they will definitely have suggestions that you wouldn’t have thought of.

Ideally, the funeral songs and music you select should:

• Honour Your Loved One
• Set The Tone For The Service
• Help The Mourners Reflect On The Life Of The Person Being Memorialized
• Offer Comfort In A Time Of Grief
• Be Meaningful To The Deceased

Other than this, the selection process can be made simple by understanding the lyrics or the words of the funeral music chosen by you. This way, you will be able to decide as to which songs relate the most with the deceased.

Dress Codes Related Dos and Don’ts for Christian Cremations and Funerals

As you decide to visit a funeral ceremony or attend a Christian cremation, ideally, your attempt should be to stay as conservative as possible. Therefore, the best solution is to stay with the basics and wear black dress to show respect to the deceased as well as the event. This means that you should entirely avoid any bright colours, flashy prints, and glittery fabrics. But this is only the basic information and there are a number of dos and don’ts to follow regarding these events. Here in this post, we take a look at some do’s and don’ts regarding what to wear during Christian cremations and funerals.

What to Wear to a Funeral: Dos and Don’ts

DO:

• While visiting Christian cemeteries, you need to consider where and when the service is to be held.
• For example – a memorial service at a beach will be more casual than a service at a place of worship.

Use Common Sense:

• When you are visiting the funeral ceremony of someone whom you know to be quite formal, it’s beneficial to get attire that is more conservative.

Ask for Advice

• If you are kind of confused because no dress cede has been recommended, you should not hesitate from asking an immediate family member of the deceased about the dress code.
• This very information can also be fetched from a funeral director or the officials of the chosen Christian cemeteries.
• There are cases that the deceased had some specific requirements and this information could be shared only a family member or the appointed funeral director.
• For example, someone with a hearty sense of humour may have specified in his or her funeral plan that they would like everyone to wear green.

What Not To Wear To a Funeral or a Christian Cremation?

DON’TS:

• Don’t pick this time to be a rebel
• Never under dress and step away from the flip flops!
• Don’t forget why you are there and show respect to the deceased