Why Funerals Must Change
The funeral industry MUST change, to embrace more humanity, more personalisation, less profit taking and, critically, to allow enough TIME to say a proper farewell, in a setting and a style that feels right, and that does not leave the family with undue financial burden.
With the cost of the most economical, private cremation in Sydney varying from just over $2,400 to a staggering $7,500 - for fundamentally the same product - it is vital that more people are aware of, and therefore able to access the lower priced services.
Part of that $7,500 price no doubt includes a healthy advertising budget.
Humanity is priceless, but sadly is doesn’t show up well on the corporate balance sheet, so the funeral industry is a slow ship-to-turn, and thousands of families continue to hand over outrageous sums for even the simplest of cremations.
So - two words on cost - SHOP AROUND. And while you’re comparing pricing, compare also the advice you are being given because ultimately, funerals are not just about coffins and flowers and hearses. Far more importantly, they are about taking the time to create a sincere and loving ceremony that truly reflects the person.
A good funeral ceremony provides an emotionally safe and appropriate framework in which to have the conversation and rituals of farewell. The church is really good at this for those with faith, but for those without that spiritual compass, there has historically been an ever-shallowing pool of hurried, cookie-cutter ceremonies served up by a profit based rather than a care based approach.
No family should be rushed in and out of a crematorium chapel in just 45 minutes, with the next funeral coming in the front door as this one is ushered out of the side. Book a double slot. It adds a few hundred dollars to the cost but is an extra spend that no family ever regrets and avoids that dreadful 'sausage factory' feeling.
Take your time, tell the stories. Place flowers on the coffin yourselves as part of the ceremony. Light candles. Allow the grandchildren to sing, or dance, or draw a picture on the coffin to help them come to terms with the death. Have a cup of tea or a glass of champagne around the coffin if that's your thing. Sit in silence. Play music. Weep, laugh, mourn. But, above all, be yourselves. Death is a family and a community affair, perhaps the most sacred of transitions and, believe it or not, the funerals that mark death can be magnificent or they can be dismal.
Make them magnificent.
Every person is unique. Every family is different.
With us, every Funeral is Individual.
Contact Northern Beaches Funerals at any time :
-- 0455 285 041
-- kathryn@northernbeachesfunerals.com.au