As a child, I could not understand why adults pretended that death was not real and tried to hide their grief – especially in front of children.  I was 5 when my grandfather died.  My grandmother cried just as much after the funeral as she had before.  Despite the efforts of her 3rd and 4th husbands, she kept on crying for the next 42 years until she died at age 93.  She was never able to heal, or get closure or release my grandfather to his new life on the other side of the Veil.

I understand now that the funeral ceremony had not done its job!

Since that time, I have met many people who have left the church after a traditional ceremony and openly questioned: “Well, was that it?”  They did not get the closure they were looking for or the release or the sense of celebration of their loved one’s life and legacy.  Those are the key ingredients in any memorial service and I will be covering them more thoroughly in future blogs.

All blessings,

Rev. Steph