Why have a Funeral?
Why have a Funeral?
For thousands of years, funerals have been a means of expressing our beliefs, thoughts and feelings about the death of someone we love. In the United States today, over 2 million people pass away every year. Most are honored with some sort of ceremony that is arranged with the help of a professional funeral director.
The funeral service has come to fill two important roles in our society today. First, it provides dignified and respectful care for the dead. Second, it provides a setting and an opportunity for family and friends to celebrate the life that has been lived. It is often difficult to know what to say, how to act, or how to begin to deal with our grief and loss. Sometimes it is difficult to say goodbye. The funeral is a way to bring people together, to help one another though the grief and difficulty of a loved one. It stimulates conversation, allows mourners to express their feelings with one another, and allows for the creation of support relationships that can assist the mourners with coming to terms with the loss. The funeral also begins to provide closure for the survivors, helping them to accept death. In this way, it can be said that a funeral service is truly for the living, as a vital start of the grieving process.
What Makes a Funeral?
Just as we remember our loved ones as unique individuals, the variety of options for funeral services allow families to tailor services to meet their wishes.
Visitation
Completely at the discretion of the family, viewing and spending time with the body of our loved one is a way of honoring the transition from life to death and saying our last goodbyes. For many, the opportunity to see their loved one a final time allows them truly to begin to acknowledge the reality of death.
Embalming is a familiar and standard part of funerals in North America, and the process temporarily preserves the body so family and friends have more time to gather and visit the deceased. The process is necessary in the case of a public viewing, but is optional otherwise. Our funeral directors will gladly answer any questions that you may have about the subject.
A visitation can be incorporated into any type of funeral service. Often it will take place the evening before a traditional funeral mass or ceremony, but can also be held in the morning before the funeral. The visitation also presents the family with an opportunity to personalize the service to represent the special qualities of the person who died and consider his or her passions, hobbies, and pastimes with photographs and paraphernalia.
Funeral Mass and Religious Services
Faith and Culture play a prominent role in the type of funeral ceremony, and family and ethnic traditions often dictate their own variations upon the funeral. With over 30 years experience in the Valley, we have worked closely with all the area churches and cemeteries for many years. Regardless of whether the family desires to have a funeral mass or ceremony in church, a service here at the funeral home, or even directly at the cemetery, we can accommodate their wishes.
Again, we encourage all families to personalize the funeral ceremony to honor their loved one. We can put the family in touch with clergy and music directors to choose readings and songs that truly reflect their love for the deceased.
Memorial Service
Some families, for reasons of personal or religious beliefs, choose not to view the deceased or have the body present for a funeral service. For many of these families, a memorial service affords them the opportunity to celebrate the life of their loved one. Again, we can work with the clergy or person performing the ceremony on behalf of the family and accommodate such services here in the funeral home or at a church or outside venue.
Funeral Services in Our Area
Individual wishes combined with cultural and religious traditions all play a role in shaping the way we say goodbye to our loved ones. Call
to speak with one of our experienced funeral service professionals to find out how we can arrange a service that is right for you and your family.