Monthly Archives: August 2020

cremation services in Monroeville, PA

Celebrants and Cremation Services

You might have heard of celebrants in regard to cremation services in Monroeville, PA, but do you know what they are, or what they do?

A celebrant is a qualified Master of Ceremonies that helps to officiate funeral or memorial services by planning, overseeing and carrying out the proceedings. They can host both religious and non-religious funerals. They are called celebrants because most people aim for the funeral service to be a celebration of the deceased’s life. This celebratory approach puts more emphasis on a life well lived, unique traits, and special memories rather than grief and loss.

A celebrant can help you craft unique funeral services with substance, personalization and meaning. You should hire a funeral celebrant if you want someone to take charge of hosting and speaking during the funeral or memorial service. Celebrants are more flexible and open to new things that traditional funeral hosts like ministers or priests, so you can add more customization to the service. A celebrant can also help you come up with ideas for this customization. This help can be very meaningful during a difficult time of loss.

If you’re interested in hiring a celebrant for your cremation or memorial service, you should do some research on your own. Make a list of possibilities, do some Googling, then call each one to get your questions answered. If you need more information, feel free to meet with your options in person to get a better feel for what they can bring to the table. During your first meeting with a potential celebrant, explain what kind of funeral you want, and how much you’d like him to be involved in the proceedings. While vetting potential celebrants, think about and ask the following questions to get a better idea of what they offer:

  • How often to you host memorials? How many a week?
  • Do you make house calls?
  • Can I have referrals from previous clients?
  • How much do you charge?
  • What’s the best way to reach you? How often are you available?
  • Can you provide me with a memorial script?
  • Do you have any additional fees?

cremation services in Monroeville, PARemember, your celebrant is there to help you, and should therefore be willing to work with you to develop the funeral services you want. Don’t be afraid to ask questions, as the right celebrant will be more than willing to help out in any way he can. Hiring a funeral celebrant is an out-of-the-box way to make sure your loved one’s funeral or service is unique, celebratory and respectful. There are celebrants for hire all over the country and even in Monroeville, PA but not every single one is a good choice.

Get in touch with Patrick T. Lanigan Funeral Home and Crematory, Inc. if you want more information on celebrants or would like a local recommendation from people who really know the business. We are experts on Monroeville, PA cremation services, and can offer you well-founded advice to help you in your time of loss and make your loved one’s service the best it can be.

funeral homes in Monroeville, PA

Common Funeral Home Services

Most people picture undertakers in dark suits, flowers and caskets when they think about funeral homes in Monroeville, PA. However, funeral homes are actually much more than that.

Funeral homes all over the country offer lots of different services with the overall intention of helping the bereaved not only plan and execute a respectful service to honor the deceased, but also to get through the many different steps and actions associated with a death. Some common funeral home services include help with planning:

  • Memorial Services – Memorial services are very similar to funerals, except for a few key differences. Fist, the body does not have to be present at a memorial service. Since the body is not present, there is no time or scheduling constraints for memorial services, and the body can be cremated beforehand.
  • Funerals – A funeral is a formal event or ceremony about the deceased, typically with religious or cultural leanings. Funerals are mostly used to remember and celebrate a death, and to allow family and friends to grieve together. A funeral usually happens a few days after death in a funeral home, church, or even the deceased’s house. For an event to be a true funeral, it requires the body to be present and intact. Most funerals have reading, hymns, sermons, eulogies or speeches throughout the ceremony.
  • Viewings and Visitations – Viewings and visitations are also generally held in tandem with a funeral or memorial as they allow family and friends to visit with and express sympathy for the funeral hosts. Viewings and visitations help people grieve together in an intimate, less formal setting. Visitations are events in which family, friends, acquaintances and more can stop by to express sympathy and grief with the immediate family of the deceased. They are usually held at the funeral home, but can sometimes take place in a church, home or other location. Viewings are when the deceased’s casket is open for final goodbyes and visits. They occur before or during the visitation.
  • Committal (or Graveside) Services – While memorials and funerals oftentimes include a graveside service, graveside services can also be performed independently from other funeral and cremation services. When a graveside service is not preceded by a funeral or memorial, it’s called a committal. Committal services are generally very brief but have some ceremony around lowering the body into the grave and covering it with soil. These services take place at the cemetery, columbarium, mausoleum or wherever the body’s final resting place may be.

veterans serviceFuneral homes can also help the bereaved with other things, too. For example, many offer services that include transfer of the deceased from the place of death, help notifying relatives, friends and coworkers, filing all permits, certificates, and authorizations, planning special ceremonies or events including Veteran’s services, and assistance with social security claims.

It’s important to note that not every funeral home offers the same services, so be sure to check with your local option, such as Patrick T. Lanigan Funeral Home and Crematory, Inc, to see if they meet your needs. You can reach out to us if you want to learn more about what Monroeville, PA funeral home services.

cremation services in Penn Township, PA

Are Cremation Services Green?

It’s no wonder people are looking for ways to make body disposition more environmentally friendly with all the recent talk about climate change and the environment. Many are looking to cremation services in Penn Township, PA as the answer.

Are cremation services better for the environment than other disposition methods? If not, are there any options for a greener burial or cremation? The basic cremation method does have slight environmental impact as is requires the burning of fossil fuels achieve the intense heat necessary to break down a body. However, it is better than traditional burial as it doesn’t involve embalming or other harsh pollutants being put into the ground.

But don’t worry just yet! You personally can take steps to make cremation services greener. A few ways you can help out are:

  • If you do choose to bury the remains, do so in a natural urn or container that breaks down naturally. Choose a receptacle made out of handmade paper or Himalayan rock salt.
  • Remove any dental fillings before the cremation. When dental amalgams are burned, they release a lot of harmful mercury gas into the air. BY removing the amalgams before the cremation, you are helping prevent these emissions.
  • Use eco-friendly cremation caskets. These are specially built to not release any harmful gases or chemicals when burned, over traditional caskets that are made with chemicals and products that do not burn well.
  • Choose to scatter the remains post-cremation. Buried remains use up ground space with caskets, and any chemicals leftover from the process could seep into the ground. Scattering takes up less space!

There are other greener cremation services available thanks to modern advancements and awareness. Green cremation services take a few more steps to make the entire process cleaner and eco-friendlier. Green cremations, or natural cremations and eco-cremations, use no harmful or toxic chemicals to treat or embalm the body. This reduces the amount of harmful gases released during the cremation. Another type of green cremation service is bio-cremation. Bio-cremation uses alkaline hydrolysis, or water resolution, to break down the body. The body is put inside a special chamber filled with potassium hydroxide, water, heat and pressure for a few hours. Over time, the elemental combination breaks down the body into bone fragments just like traditional cremation services. The remains from bio-cremation can be scattered or buried just like traditional remains. Bio-cremation uses much less fossil fuel and energy and does not let off as much gas or emissions. As it’s still a fairly new method, bio-cremation is not readily available and may be more expensive.

green funerals

Patrick T. Lanigan Funeral Home and Crematory, Inc. if you have any more questions about green cremations, or Penn Township, PA cremation services. We have years of cremation experience and would be honored to work with you to make sure your environmental and cremation needs are met. Please stop by and visit us or give us a call today to learn more about what we can do for you.

Penn Township, PA funeral home

Talking to Your Loved Ones About Preplanning Funeral Home Services

You already know how important it is to preplan your service at a Penn Township, PA funeral home. One crucial step of that preplanning is having a discussion with your loved ones about your plans. This conversation is never easy.

Your loved ones don’t want to talk about your eventual death, much less the details of your funeral. As difficult as it may be, it’s important to talk to your loved ones about your funeral service preplanning. You can use these tips to make this conversation a bit easier. After all, as hard as it is to think about now, your family will appreciate your preplanning in the long run.

Start by knowing what you want. Don’t try and talk to your family about your post-death wishes until you know what they are. Take time before you bring up the subject to research, think about and decide precisely what you want out of your funeral. What kind of service do you want? Do you want a burial or cremation? Viewing or visitation? What’s the budget? Once you know the answer to those questions, you’ll be better able to express your concrete wishes to your family.

cremation services in Monroeville, PA

Also, be ready for high emotions. While you’ve taken time to plan and get used to the idea of your own passing, your family and loved one’s most likely have not. The people you love will need some time to process all the emotions associated with your probable, eventual or impending death and loss. They might get angry with you, experience denial about the conversation’s necessity, or be just plain sad at the idea of losing you. If things get too emotional, take a break and continue the conversation once everyone has calmed down a bit. Even though your final wishes are ultimately your decision and all about what you want, your loved ones will still want to have some input. Be ready to listen to their concerns and to answer any questions they might have. If you don’t have the answer right away, take the time you need to come up with one.

Finally, you need to stay strong. While it’s important to listen to what your family has to say about your final wishes, it’s still mostly your decision at the end of the day. Don’t be afraid to be firm about what you want and stand up for decisions that are important to you. Once you’ve come to a decision everyone can be happy with, it’s a great idea to have a legal document drawn up with all the details so there are no questions after you’re gone.

Before you can have a conversation about preplanning, you need to start to make decisions for your funeral. Patrick T. Lanigan Funeral Home and Crematory, Inc. is a funeral home in Penn Township, PA that can assist with any and all of your service needs. Call or visit us today to learn more about what we can do for you.