Sisters Funeral Celebrants

07/09/2024

I don’t know about you but the thought of spending thousands of dollars on a funeral is a waste. If you have a similar view this article has some useful ideas. It comes down to “plan, break the rules, pre-pay”

The cost of living crisis is also impacting the cost of dying. In response, people are planning ahead and rethinking what's important.

02/08/2024

The power of the small…

03/07/2024

This is a journey into the sublime. Originally written by Barber for strings this is a stunning arrangement for voices. If it's the last thing I ever hear, I will die in the arms of peace.

VOCES8 performs Samuel Barber's setting of the 'Agnus Dei' at the VOCES8 Centre in London.TEXTAgnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, miserere nobis.Agnus Dei, ...

26/08/2023

Sisters Funerals Celebrants Dorrigo had the absolute privilege of conducting a service for much loved and respected member of the community. Held in the garden at Alison’s home it was a truly loving and respectful time of sadness and celebration.

11/08/2023

Alan Wolfelt gives us a simple but profound observation.

14/06/2023

20/04/2023

“Grief is a lonely experience.” Kathryn Mannix has good advice on how to support and safely “hold” someone who is grieving.

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🟣 Grief is a lonely experience. It's even more isolating if friends and colleagues, worried about saying 'the wrong thing,' simply stay away.

🔵 How could we do better? Well, here are some suggestions. They are all based on feedback from bereaved people, and taken from 'Listen.'

🟣 Don't avoid us. Please make contact. We don't have the energy to initiate contact, but we want to feel connected.

🔵 Say our dead person's name. Tell us your stories about them. Give us new glimpses of them.

🟣 It's awkward. We know. Don't let that get in the way. Be awkward and turn up. It's OK to say 'I don't know what to say.'

🔵 Don't give us platitudes, or try to cheer us up. Just be with us in our sorrow. That's how we feel right now, but company sometimes helps a bit. Try 'I'm sorry you're so sad' if you need to say something.

🟣 Don't ask us how we are. The world has changed so much we can't answer a question as big as that. Try 'How are you just now?' or 'Do you feel up to a chat today?' or 'It's good to see you.'

🔵 Offers of practical help can be welcome. Thanks for walking my dog, taking my bins out, bringing me a meal for my freezer, or calling from the supermarket to ask what I need.

🟣 When we're coming back to work or re-joining social activities, some of us would like support. Don't guess: ask us whether we want a card and flowers or just 'business as usual' on our first day back. Make it easier for us to get back into familiar routines.

🔵 Listen. Let us tell our stories, the sad ones and the happy ones. Sometimes, we want to connect to happy past events, other times we want to share our current sorrow.

🟣 Keep on checking in. Don't stop after a week, a month, a year. Grief has no time limits. Remember important dates if you can, but random contact is appreciated, too.

🙏🏽 Big thanks to my talented colleague Monica Lalanda for making this fabulous graphic from my book. Isn't it a great way to convey a message?

18/04/2023

Alan Wolfelt gets it.

18/04/2023

Few people like to think about their own death, but dying without a will in place throws up numerous problems that can fall on your loved ones.