End of Life Services

18/11/2019

ABOUT MEANINGFUL MEMORIAL SERVICES

Last week I attended the memorial service for a dear friend of mine. For purely personal reasons, I hesitated going there. How glad I am I did not give in to my doubts about attending.

The memorial service was not a drawn-out affair. It consisted basically of a sermon by the brother-in-law of the deceased and words of thanks spoken from the heart by his wife's sister. The preacher's sermon was about this man being a man of love - and the love I felt there was really heart-warming. I'm so glad I did not give in to my reservations about attending. It truly was a healing experience for me. Love heals. I experienced that first-hand last week.

Which reminds me of something I read some time ago.

The writer of the article covered the subject of not having a memorial service after the passing of a loved one. She mentioned families of gangsters and prisoners refraining from doing so because of the negative legacies of the ones who passed away. She wrote all people have a good side to their characters. My motivation for agreeing with her would be the fact that memorial services have the possibility for bringing perspective and healing to those left behind.

Money is sometimes a factor as well, according to funeral directors I have spoken to. The services rendered by the funeral business cost money. However, I would still advise families to do the memorial thing. Why not to it in the lounge or garden at home? At the end of the year I will be doing a garden-wedding. The 30 guests who have been invited, were told that it will be a bring-and-braai wedding!!! I'll see to it that it will be a fun-occasion!!

I know of ways to do things cheaper having spent time in the funeral industry myself. I also know of creative ways to plan a healing memorial services.

Make contact with me. Maybe someone in your circle of family or friends is suffering from a terminal illness at the moment. Let me advise you about how to go about things when the inevitable happens. it's good to be

prepared.

Zachie: Cell 083-7995-911. I love to be of assistance. I have a 911 number!!

05/09/2019

Dr. Elisabeth Kübler-Ross has been described in 1991 as ‘the world’s foremost expert on the subjects of death, dying and the afterlife.’ For years she worked with ‘the dying and learnt from them what life is all about.’ She spent time with countless dying people to learn form them what happens during the dying process. She writes as follows:

‘When we leave the physical body there will be a total absence of panic, fear and anxiety. We will always experience a physical wholeness and will be totally aware of the environment in which this accident or death occurs. Our second body, which we experience at this time, is not the physical body but an ethereal body. In the second, temporary, ethereal body we experience wholeness as I said before. If we have been amputees, we will have our legs again. If we have been deaf mutes, we can hear and talk and sing. If we have been a multiple sclerosis patient in a wheelchair with blurred vision, blurred speech and unable to move our legs, we are able to sing and dance again.’

From: On Life after Death.

04/09/2019

The Circle of Life

04/09/2019

Circle of Life is about ....

Circle of Life
Circle of Life is about emotional care to those in
the senior phase of life — like me myself!
My training and experience as PASTOR prepared me for this.

I assist with …
Making sense of the elderly phase of life
Working through unfinished business
Recording life stories
Keeping contact with the families.
Spiritual guidance
Terminal counselling
Doing a celebration of life at memorial services
Grief counselling for those who stay behind
Offering TRANSPORT

Costs
My first contact with clients is free of charge. After that we negotiate a fee you are comfortable with. To be there for and with people is what is important. The crisis of old age, they say, is loneliness.

27/08/2019

‘You too, have to know when approaching the bed of your dying mother or father, who may be in a deep coma, that this woman or man can hear everything you say. At those moments it is not too late to say: ‘Sorry’ or ‘I love you’ or whatever else you would want to say. For these words, it is never too late to say them, even to the dead ones, because they can still hear you. Even then you can finish ‘unfinished business’ which you might have carried with you for ten or twenty years. In this way you can unburden yourself of your guilt so that you yourself may live more fully.’

‘On life after death’: Dr. Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, the world’s famous expert on the subjects of death, dying and the afterlife.

26/08/2019

I sit in a Mugg & Bean sipping my hot chocolate and the pastor tells me a remarkable story.

An elderly member of his church was an offspring of a man who survived an attack by natives during the time of the Voortrekkers. This group of Voortrekkers were brutally killed - except for a black woman who managed to flee the scene unscathed. The next day, when she returned to the scene of the attack, she heard a baby crying. He was lying in a makeshift hammock underneath one of the ox-wagons. His mother put him there when they outspanned, to escape the heat of the day. He went unnoticed when the massacre occurred. She took him to a Cordier-family and they brought him up. That’s how he became a Cordier as well.

The pastor related this story at Mr. Cordier’s funeral. The sad thing is that the details of this great-grandfather is now lost to memory. It was never properly recorded.

Let’s write down our elderly people’s histories. This will serve as an inspiration for the generations to come. Let’s record the values people have lived by. It’s called an ‘ethical will’: ‘ The ethics, beliefs, motto's, and the other things seniors want others to know about what they have learned in their lifetimes. "From there," says Ann Flaxman who encourages people to write down their life-stories, "the ethical will evolves into a document that acknowledges and passes on the qualities, causes and values that an individual life has stood for.

24/08/2019

Daar is ‘n NFDA in ons land maar ook in die VSA. NFDA staan vir die National Funeral Director’s Association. Hulle het 20 000 lede in byna 50 lande buiten in die VSA. Dis ‘n sambreel-organisasie waaraan ondernemers daar behoort, die grootste van sy soort in die wêreld. Hulle moedig hul lede aan om meer te doen as om net mense op ‘n waardige en professionele wyse te begrawe of veras.

Een van hulle inisiatiewe is Talk of a Lifetime. By http://www.talkofalifetime.org/ kan jy meer uitvind daaroor.
Wat bedoel hulle hiermee. Lees die volgende…

‘Why is having the talk important?
Deep down, most of us want to know that we, in some way, made a difference in this world. Having the Talk of a Lifetime can make the difference of a lifetime. It can help reacquaint us with our loved ones and help us get to know them in a new and different way. Sitting down with your loved ones to talk about their lives can be rich and satisfying. Learning about memorable events and people, places and favourite activities, values and lessons they have learned can help bring us closer to those we care about most. The talk helps us reaffirm to our loved ones how much they have impacted our life.’

Have the Talk of a Lifetime! Learn about what matters most to you and loved ones, how to keep memories alive and how to plan a meaningful memorialization.

23/08/2019

Onderstaande is 'n nota wat deurgestuur is deur die National Funeral Directors Association aan hul 20 000 lede in die VSA en ongeveer 50 lande wereldwyd. Lees bietjie hier.

Value of Funerals & Funeral Directors

As funeral professionals, you know the value a funeral can provide to families as they begin the grief journey following the death of a loved one. You also know the value you provide in creating a meaningful experience. It can, however, sometimes be difficult to express this to a family. Let this PSA(Public Service Announcement) do the talking for you. Thoughtful words and imagery beautifully communicate the healing power of funerals and the important role you, as a funeral professional, play in guiding families through the process.

When you share this PSA in your community, you will:

Encourage families to have meaningful funerals.
Inspire families to incorporate creative elements into funerals.
Educate families about the important role of funeral directors.
Encourage people to visit RememberingALife.com to learn more about meaningful funerals and start the conversation.