Losing a loved one, whether it’s a friend or a member of your immediate family can be difficult. The thought of attending a funeral service is also challenging, but there are some steps you can take to make the process a bit easier. At Eackles-Spencer & Norton Funeral Home in Harpers Ferry, WV, they specialize in funeral planning, burials and grief support. These professionals are here to offer a brief funeral guide to help you feel more comfortable at a funeral service.
Here are 3 ways to be a good funeral attendee:
Plan To Be On Time: Leave and arrive early if you need to, but don’t be late to a funeral service. You’ve witnessed it before; someone enters the room after the service starts and everyone turns around to look at the door. It’s
A freelance attorney in Brooklyn, Deirdre Sullivan, who wrote the essay “Always Go to the Funeral” talked about a valuable lesson that she learned from her father. Her father told her even simple gestures of kindness when it is inconvenient for you may have a outstanding or massive effect on someone else.In her essay, Sullivan says that, ‘Always Go to the Funeral’ means that she should always do the right thing even when she doesn’t want to, “I‟m talking about those things that represent only inconveniences to me, but the world to the other guy”(Sullivan 236 2006). When she was sixteen she says she was almost “forced” into going to her old fifth-grade math teacher's funeral. She was only only kid there, and when she went to the condolence line she was unchaperoned. After giving her condolences, is when she
The funeral was supposed to be a family affair. She had not wanted to invite so many people, most of them strangers to her, to be there at the moment she said goodbye. Yet, she was not the only person who had a right to his last moments above the earth, it seemed. Everyone, from the family who knew nothing of the anguish he had suffered in his last years, to the colleagues who saw him every day but hadn’t actually seen him, to the long-lost friends and passing acquaintances who were surprised to find that he was married, let alone dead, wanted to have a last chance to gaze upon him in his open coffin and say goodbye.
...d friends. There are many emotions involved for the family and friends of the loved one and having a funeral provides a structured and safe environment to express them.
During a time of distress and duress, many family members make decisions which are often hasty. The funeral industry takes advantage of those who are grieving by telling family members that embalming is necessary. The undertaker uses the argument that the corpse needs to be preserved in order for it to be presentable. The funeral director often decides to embalm the corpse without permission from the person who passed away or any of his family members (Mitford, 2005). After everything has finished, the total bill for the funeral service is often more then what was told initially and the family is left with an enormous bill. People want to have the body to be presentable at the funeral; therefore, they are coerced into paying extra to promote the growth of the undertaking industry (Mitford, 1998).
...metimes counsel the grieving, classes or courses in grief counselling would come in handy to attend before becoming a funeral service worker ( “Funeral Service” para. 25).
This is crazy. Why am I afraid? I’m acting as if this is my first funeral. Funerals have become a given, especially with a life like mine, the deaths of my father, my uncle and not my biological mother, you would think I could be somewhat used to them by now. Now I know what you’re thinking, death is all a part of life. But the amount of death that I’ve experienced in my life would make anyone cower away from the thought. This funeral is nothing compared to those unhappy events.
A Military funeral in the United States of America is an honoring or burial rite given by the United States Military for a Soldier, Marine, Sailor or Airman who died in battle, a veteran, or other prominent military figures. The rendering of Military Funeral Honors is a way to show the Nation’s deep gratitude to those who, in time of war or peace, have faithfully defended our country. There are numerous types of Military funerals which embrace and omit certain components depending on the prominence of the deceased. For most, standard honors will be the funeral that is chosen for them. Whether the service member served 35 years, or a short term contract, His or Her honors will be performed with the utmost respect. Performing the ceremonial duties falls upon a class of highly trained and highly motivated detachment.
When discussing any topic, from medicines to death, history is always relevant. Funeral service dates back to 1685, which involved providing mourning merchandise to the society. Many undertakers at this time in history were also furniture builders, building the coffins for burial, as well as other household furniture. It wasn’t until the 19th century that funeral directors were utilized often. Before this time, families took care of their deceased loved ones. Around the time of the civil war embalming was introduced and shed a new light on funeral service. Listed below is a brief summary of some important events in funeral service history.
Losing someone you love or care deeply about is very painful. And although the grieving period is tough and sometime lengthy it can be easier if all the facts are known. Being able to bury a loved one only is the beginning of a long agonizing period but there is some comfort in seeing your loved one for the last time and celebrating their life while sending them off in a way that honors them and what they mean to you. A memorial that you can go visit and for some a place to still be able to talk to that loved one. Families need closure and to find closure you need to see the body to know for sure it was in fact your family member. Otherwise left with questions as to who, what, when, where, how. Not knowing these things can really make people hold on to those thoughts. Did he or she go peacefully? Was he or she calling out for anyone? Was there a lot of pain? Although many times these questions aren’t easily answered but there is peace in knowing certain things when you lose someone that you hold dearly in your heart. Some may hold on to the thought that since there is no body maybe, just maybe my loved one is still alive and coming home. These types of holes that lack filling can cause depression, stress, and a never ending grieving period. So there is no telling how I would go through or get through it rather not knowing that what happened and where my
What influence does location of the funeral have on the meaning of the funeralization process?
Most people dismiss anything having to do with death out of fear. The uncertainty some associate with death has caused Funeral Service to be a particularly taboo subject in society. One may assume funeral directors are the sketchy personalities enthralled with death, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. Over the years, Funeral Service has progressed and become a larger industry. Funeral Service has changed in its history over time, affecting the education required, and the job they do today.
The Toraja’s people pertain to ethnic groups and reside in the mountainous region of South Sulawesi, Indonesia. Torajans have certain series of unique rites, which they perform on some one’s funeral. They have pledged allegiance to their ethnological rituals and ceremonies and they feel that it’s their prestigious pride to complete ceremonials with their heart and soul. Torajans have quite astonishing and surprising customs so that people come to attend death feast from around its neighbor villages, and even tourists also prefer to visit.
1 – Always make sure that you are on time for work, if you show up late it could make it look like you don’t care too much about the job to your supervisor. Say John shows up 15 minutes early for work and his boss is impressed by how early he showed up.
Preparing for Death A lack of preparation for our deaths is a serious problem whether it is because we don’t know the exact time or just don’t want to face death. In an article in Time magazine by John Cloud he writes “We will spend more time getting ready for two weeks away from work than we will for our last two weeks on earth” (Cloud,2000,p.60). We should prepare for our deaths to show our wishes concerning treatment and life support, as well as other aspects. We should make choices while we are still well, so that we are treated properly before we die.
The funeral and wake were especially difficult because of having to stand in the greeting line. Having to greet everyone is truly annoying. This is especially true when you don’t know who most of the people are, and when you yourself are under emotional duress. That point aside, it was very interesting to see the reactions of the different people. One thing I noticed was the conversations between my father’s cousins. They were depressed, but not because of the death. The overall tone was “who’s going to be next”; they were all in their fifties and sixties. At this time I was 25 years