What is a personalized funeral and memorial service?

Johannesburg, 10 September 2019: There are many reasons why we have funerals or memorial services. It gives us a chance to say goodbye and it is the beginning of closure for many of us, but perhaps the main reason is to honour the person who has passed away and remember and celebrate their lives. Mosaic Funerals provides some advice on how to give a loved one a personal and fitting farewell.

A funeral or memorial service used to be very rigid and planned mostly according to religious beliefs but times are moving away from the traditional funeral and people are becoming more interested in holding personal, informal memorials or Celebration of Life services. This is because people are realising that a memorial service should be all about the person you are honouring, not what tradition says you should do, bearing in mind that for most people, religion will always be a key consideration in the choices made during this process.

“One of the reasons that we established Mosaic Funeral Group was to change the way that services are done in the funeral industry. We want to make sure that everyone gets the service or ceremony that they deserve and that their family and friends walk away with closure and a feeling that they can move forward. For this reason we are willing to go out of our way to make sure that you are able to say goodbye in a way that means something to you as an individual,” says Ronnie Collins, Mosaic Funeral Group spokesman.

After losing a loved one, it is all too easy to get caught up in the flood of things that need to be done following a death. While there are many details to take care of, remember that they don’t all need to be handled at once. Slow down and keep your objective in mind: honouring your loved one and bringing some of their personality to the service. “Everyone wants to have a dignified service so for the loved ones left behind it is always a battle emotionally to reconcile the loss they feel with the practicalities of what needs to be done. We are with you from step one so feel free to ask for advice. Don’t rush yourself or make hasty decisions, it really will be okay,” Collins assures.

While thinking about the person who has passed, try to consider things such as what made that person unique, what they enjoyed doing and what they were passionate about. Take some time to talk to other people who were close to the deceased. Find out why the person touched other peoples’ lives and what made them important to other people. Gather special memories of the deceased, not only for the memorial service but for your own journey of healing as well. “We make sure that all you need to need to worry about is your personal healing – helping you create a service that is unique, and truly honours the loved one you have lost, plays a big part in that. Grief is personal and we understand that.”

The next thing to consider are the elements of the service that you would like personalized. Among these are the music, readings and eulogies. The venue where the service will be held may also provide opportunities for you to incorporate personal elements to honour the deceased. The biggest challenge may be that your options are almost unlimited but some things you can include in the service are flowers and photos or items that were special to your loved one. Don’t hesitate to include other family members or friends in these decisions, having more opinions will help create a more rounded picture of the person you are celebrating.

Another way to personalize a memorial service is a specially designed program to hand out. You can include photos, poems, biographies, scriptures, quotations and more, to offer tribute to and reflect the personality of the deceased. The funeral director will be able to help you arrange the design and printing of the program.

The most important part of planning of personalized memorial service is to ask for help. Even coping with normal daily activities is difficult when going through the death of someone you love, so planning a whole service on your own is an extremely daunting task. Let people you care about be involved, it is a step towards healing for all of you.

“We guide you through the whole process and explain step by step what is involved whether you choose a burial or cremation. We explain all the paperwork needed and put everything in place for you. This includes helping you with personal touches for the service.”

“A personalized memorial service can bring a lot of comfort to those that are left behind to grieve. Incorporating aspects of the person’s personality and who they were will not only help you to celebrate the life they lived and how much they influenced other people, but will also help you take those first steps on your journey of healing,” Collins concludes.

For more information, visit www.mosaicfunerals.co.za or follow them on Facebook and Instagram.

The Funeral Industry and Assistance to Families of Crash Victims https://t.co/GxrBhHkc8e #ArriveAlive #FuneralCover @Funeral_car @RAF_SA pic.twitter.com/ioOkSgFRS0

— Arrive Alive (@_ArriveAlive) March 1, 2019