For the Record –
Jonathan Freedland on his sister’s farewell Desert Island Discs – listen in on December 30th to how this lady said goodbye
Respect were filmed by the BBC reporter Emma Massey carrying out one their funerals at the Green Burial Park in Laughton.
The Pony was a lovely addition to our team for the day and we had the pleasure of using one of his pals at a funeral in Bawtry recently.
The film is not typical of every funeral/burial but shows what you can choose to have if you so wish.
If you are recently bereaved you may find this film difficult to watch.
Are you ready for your digital afterlife?
Are you prepared for your digital afterlife? It’s a more important question than you might think. End of life planning used to be all about “things”. The most important decisions that we needed to make were how to organise our funeral, what to do with our assets and how to prevent legal issues after our passing. Today, much of our life is spent online and, as a result, some of our most important assets are digital. Our photos are digital, our social connections are maintained through Facebook and our email accounts maintain a written record of our lives “in the cloud”. So, this raises an important question: what happens to our online “self” after we die?
If this still seems like a trivial question, think about the following scenarios. What would you like to have happen to your Facebook account after you die? Would it give your family comfort to be able to see a record of your life online? Or, would this cause them emotional pain? Would you like your family to be able to access your email accounts? All of us have secrets. Would you be prepared for your family to know all of yours? If so, who should have access? What about your digital pictures? Would you like your family to have access to them?
It might surprise you to know that not all companies handle this process the same way. Facebook recently added an option for family members to request the creation of a “memorial page” from your personal Facebook page. Some email providers routinely grant access to the accounts of deceased family members, while others make the process extremely difficult. It’s best to be prepared. Even taking the simple step of preparing a list of accounts and passwords that you want your family to have can reduce a great deal of stress
For more information please follow the link:
http://sixtyandme.com/are-you-ready-for-your-digital-afterlife
How to write a Eulogy
When a loved one dies it is our first thought that we would like to say something at their funeral but as we are not public speakers this can be quite daunting standing up in front of all their friends and family. So maybe the attached may help?
http://dying.about.com/od/funeralsandmemorials/ht/write_a_eulogy.htm
Respect are very proud to have been awarded the Certificate of Recommendation from the leading Natural Death Centre Charity in the UK now in its 25th year
We feel highly honoured to have been recommended and this is testament to the customers whose family members we have served and who always come back to our company in their time of need.
Newsweek Magazine published an article on the Respect Everybody Shrouds after visiting the Ideal Death Show in Birmingham and watching a demonstration on how to lay a body within the shroud and fold the shroud ensuring the body is secure within. It also demonstrated how the Respect Everybody Shrouds which are made from bamboo and can look unique and decorative by placing wild flowers within the folds of the Shroud.
The demonstration was very well attended and showed just how simple the Respect Everybody shrouds are to use and carry.
www.newsweek.com/3014/09/19/emea-issue.html
Is a Ferrarri your dream car? Well now you can have the choice to have your ashes placed in an Urn created to look like one! How cool is that!! Made from biodegradeable material this product is totally acceptable for Green Burial.
Respect your final journey in one of the new Urns supplied by Respect as part of their new range. Totally biodegradeable and therefore suitable for interment at our Green Burial Parks.
Best Green Funeral Director 2014 was awarded to Respect at an awards ceremony in Birmingham hosted by the Good Funeral Guide and we would like to say a huge thank you to all those families who took the time to nominate us. It is an honour to have received this award and it is rewarding to know that we are providing a service that families want.
Respect have been led into Funeral Directing through a natural progression. Families have pre-booked their final resting places within our Parks and asked if we can arrange the whole funeral and of course why wouldn’t we, it makes perfect sense to deal with the whole service.
Respect Green Burials have been accepted to be a member of the Green Funeral Association helping to bring Greener Funerals into the mainstream.
Here is the Green Funeral Association Membership Criteria and Code of Practice:
The Green Funeral Association expects its members to always aim for the highest level of service possible, both personal and practical. This includes providing clear price information, empowering each bereaved family to arrange a green funeral which meets their individual needs, and allowing them to have as much involvement as they want.
Members also make the following specific pledges:
- On Embalming: Not to carry out embalming as a routine procedure, but instead to give an accurate and clear explanation of the procedure to the bereaved and only carry out the procedure at the direct request of the bereaved or as a regulatory requirement, Not to refer to the procedure as ‘hygienic treatment’, which has the effect of persuading families that embalming is at least desirable, if not essential.
- On Literature and Other Information provided to the general public: To ensure that they have literature available, and information on their website (if they have one), that gives eco-friendly options for funerals at least equal prominence to traditional options.
- On Coffins: That a range of environmentally-friendly coffins is made available to all customers. That all staff who have routine contact with the public understand what characteristics make a particular coffin environmentally-friendly, e.g. made from recycled materials, constructed from FSC sources of timber, made from renewable sources, shipped “russian-doll style”, locally sourced, and/or has biodegradable fittings.
- On Natural Burial: That all staff who have routine contact with the public have a good knowledge of, at least, the two closest natural burial grounds and are able to advise (prospective) customers about the regulations in force at those sites concerning: types of coffin accepted; tree planting policy; maintenance regime and long term vision; prices; extent of grave marking / memorialisation allowed; whether ashes can be interred, or scattered at the sites; and whether the sites are members of the ANBG (and hence comply with their standards).
- On Flowers: That all staff who have routine contact with the public have a good knowledge of environmentally-friendly flower options, especially those that avoid the use of non-recyclable materials and create funeral waste. These options should be given, at least, equal prominence to other flower options.
Please follow the link to find out more information regarding the Green Funeral Association