May 2018
I just attended a Funeral Celebrants Association Australia get together here in Adelaide. Besides being a good opportunity to meet other funeral celebrants from South Australia and two founding members of FCAA we were privileged to hear from Abby Buckley who is a researcher, facilitator and speaker on death literacy. Abby also runs Death Cafe days mainly in the northern suburbs. Death Cafe’s are becoming a popular venue enabling people to sit down and talk openly about death and help them prepare them for what they want. For further information about what Abby is doing including the next Death Cafe venue and date go to Abby’s website: – http://offthecuff.net.au/. You will find plenty of interesting and helpful material there.
Also present was Helen Roberts an End of Life Guide and Funeral Photographer. Funeral Photography is now becoming acceptable as it provides family and friends with well presented photographic memories of the service/memorial and day. Helen’s website is www.gracefuldying.com.
I also attended an event in the West Terrace Cemetery call Death Over Dinner – The Last Word which also included a night tour of the West Terrace Cemetery.
The event included a panel of 3 and an MC. The panel included the CEO Adelaide Cemeteries Authority, Palliative Care Nurse Practitioner, Death Doula and the MC was a Funeral Celebrant. The event included music a meal, wine and forum for having some of those unknowns answered, including the rise of natural burials. There are now 2 natural burial cemeteries in South Australia, the Enfield Cemetery and the Smithfield Cemetery.
For further helpful information go to the Adelaide Cemeteries Association website: aca.sa.gov.au
June 2017
I recently attended the 2017 Funeral Celebrants Association Australia conference in Sydney.
Along with the many interesting and thought provoking presentations, and meeting such a wonderful group of helpful, professional and humane funeral celebrants. I came across a number of interesting exhibitors who had wonderful information and support sites to help us prepare for the eventual time when we all need to prepare for our own funeral or the funeral of a loved one.
The following are the sites you may find helpful.
1: Your life talks.
This site provides resources to assist you in preparing for your own funeral. The resources include a set of cards that assist you in reflecting on your life through the use of “Your Life Story” cards. Another set of cards “You Life Wishes” cards assist you in setting down what your wishes are in the event you are not able to do so in the future.
2. Your Life Assist
https://www.yourlifeassist.com.au
This site provide information and support across the spectrum o from preparing your will will and estate, through to the scattering of ashes.
3. WabiSabie
The word WabiSabie is a Japanese word meaning “the acceptance of the impermanence of life”.
This site takes away the difficult task of your loved one having to make those hard telephone calls to inform friends, family, colleagues of your passing.
The site enables you to create a personalised site that includes the emails of those you wish to be notified at the time of your death.
On your personal site you nominate one or two significant others who can access your page and activate your notification.
4. Scattered Ashes
This innovative site provides a repository for where you or your loved ones ashes have been scattered.
The site enables you to “create a permanent record of your loved ones life and final resting place”.
The website managers canteen provide an internet location of where your loved ones ashes have been scattered.