memorial services

You may think you're limited in terms of celebrating and memorializing your loved one's life after the cremation, but in reality, that is the opposite of the truth. We have put together an informational guide to explain that there are many options and even included some tips and ideas when planning one. Please keep in mind this is for informational purposes only and is not in any way a service provided by Direct Cremation Services Inc.

What is a Memorial Service?

A memorial service is a ceremony that memorializes and honors the deceased after the body has been cremated or buried. A memorial service has the same meaning as any other funeral service; honour and pay tribute to the deceased. The memorial service often takes place weeks or even months after the death has occurred.

A memorial service shares many similarities between both funeral services and celebrations of life. It is essentially a funeral service with some traditional elements that aim to celebrate the deceased's life. Unlike a traditional funeral, though, the deceased's body is not present for the service. Sometimes, the family may choose to have an urn holding the remains displayed at the funeral home.

A standard memorial service often includes music, selected readings, a prayer, and a eulogy. However, if your family wants to personalize the service further, this can be accomplished through a celebration of life. In any case, Direct Cremation Services Inc. is proud to help families in our community honor their loved ones with beautiful and respectful memorial services.

Group of Hands on a Tree During a Memorial

How is a memorial service different than other types of services?

Memorial Service vs. Funeral

The biggest difference of a traditional funeral and a memorial service is that the body is not present in a casket at a memorial service. However, an urn with the loved one’s ashes may be present at a memorial service. Both traditional funeral services and memorial services have structure, and both bring the community together in support and remembrance. However, a traditional funeral service is much more structured and formal. A traditional funeral service is often associated with religion so it is often led by a member of clergy, whereas a memorial service is led by a celebrant or master of ceremonies. Memorial services often allow for each guest to participate to some level, where guests of a traditional funeral are really just there to observe and reflect.

Memorial Service vs. Celebration of Life

A celebration of life is an event that truly celebrates the loved one’s passions, intellectual pursuits, personality, and personal accomplishments. A celebration of life can really have no structure at all and can be really anything you want.

A memorial service could be best described as a gentle mix of a traditional funeral and celebration of life. A memorial service has some structure, but it still allows you the flexibility to make the ceremony unique and personalized to fit the individual being honored. Also the mood generally lies somewhere in the middle of completely somber and celebratory.

Memorial Service Ideas

Our experience has shown us that many of today's families want more than a traditional funeral. This can be done by bringing more of the personality and lifestyle of the deceased into the arrangements. By displaying photographs or staging the event around a favourite pastime, a memorial service can become more personal and meaningful.

If a personalized memorial service suits the needs of your family, we suggest you consider the following questions:
What did your loved one like to do?
What was he or she like as an individual?
What was their profession and how did that shape their life?
Was your loved one spiritual?
Was he or she proud of their cultural or ethnic heritage?

There are many ways in which a loved one can be memorialized, whether it be through something like a balloon or bird release or by doing an activity that was enjoyed by your loved one, there are many ways to pay tribute to a loved one. Review some ideas that we've provided below.

Create a Time Capsule

A great way to help the family long after the service has ended is to create a time capsule of memories. For this idea, invite guests to bring small items like photographs, cards, books, letters, and other little mementos. As guests add their item into the capsule, they can share the memory with everyone in attendance. Afterwards, your family can choose to bury the capsule or lock it away. On the first anniversary of the deceased’s passing, your family can open the memory capsule and revisit all the memories that were shared.

Host a Potluck

If your loved one loved to cook or enjoyed trying new foods, consider hosting a potluck. Create a list of your loved one’s favorite dishes and invite guests to sign up to bring them. Not only will you be serving the food your loved one enjoyed, guests can feel a greater connection to the deceased and that they were a part of the celebration.

Release Balloons

Another great way to remember your loved one is something like a balloon or lantern release. Everyone can attach a note with words of meaning, a favourite memory, anything they like to the balloon and release the balloon into the air as a final goodbye to their loved one.

Why a Memorial Service?

Rather than opting to do things "the same old way", many families today want to celebrate the life of a loved one. Many funeral service professionals see this change as one of the many contributions to social change made by "Baby Boomers". The National Funeral Directors Association notes, "As baby boomers age and find themselves having to plan funerals for loved ones and themselves, they are making funeral choices based on values that are different than previous generations. Baby boomers see funerals as a valuable part of the grieving process and are seeking ways to make them meaningful." If you too desire to make the funeral for a loved one more engaging and personally meaningful, a celebration-of-life may be the perfect concept to build on.

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How Does a Celebration of Life Differ from a Traditional Funeral?

There are four basic components of Traditional Funeral Services, which make up the conventional approach to funerals:

A Visitation
The Funeral Service
A Committal Service
The Funeral Reception

A traditional funeral then is a series of events; it's a ritualized process where the deceased, and the attendees, pass from one social status to another; a process where the torn fabric of a family and community is repaired. According to the online article "Six Characteristics of Helpful Ceremonies", by William Hoy, Director of Grief Connect, this is done by including:

Symbols of shared significance intended to communicate beyond words
Ritual actions shared by a group of individuals
Gathered people providing comfort to one another
Connection to heritage through recognized readings
Increased physical contact between attendees provide comfort
Witnessing the transition of the body through burial or cremation

In knowing these characteristics, you can design a Celebration of Life as unique as the life of your loved. Learn how to create a Celebration of Life.