Here are some websites/resources to check out:


www.RememberNetwork.ca    
Kory McGrath is a licensed Funeral Director who has a different vision than the conventional death and funeral practices.   "As an Ambassador with the David Suzuki Foundation's "At Work Program" I also recently consulted with the organization on the subject of Green Funerals and Burials.  Kory is the guest speaker at the congregation April 10, 2011.  Look for her talk to be posted under our tab "Past Presentations".  (see the Press Release below....)

http://naturalburial.coop/canada    (based in Guelph)  

www.finalpassages.org                            
Jerri Grace Lyons  - a death mid-wife from California that held a weekend workshop in Toronto last fall... articles to read, etc. Green and Loving Family-Directed Home Funerals.  "The Nature of Life includes the Eventual Miracle of Death, a rite of passage that deserves dignity and loving care."

http://www.crossings.net
CROSSINGS is a home funeral and green burial resource centre. They exist to foster the integration of dying and after-death care back into our family and community life.


http://homefuneralalliance.org
The National Home Funeral Alliance is a group of home funeral educators and advocates all across the United States who have formed a non-profit alliance for the purpose of educating the consumer about the intrinsic value of a home funeral.
   


http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/arizonaliving/articles/2010/05/20/20100520homefunerals0520.html
here is an interesting article from May of 2010:
"Ruth Gardner, preparing for her death and a burial she wanted to be as natural as possible, found a red silk fabric she loved. She used it to sew her own shroud....."
   
 

Documentary film:  A FAMILY UNDERTAKING
How will you deal with death, life's final inevitability, when it comes calling at your home?
An excellent and provocative documentary, A Family Undertaking, explores the complex psychological, cultural, legal, and financial issues around home funerals.  It profiles several families who have bypassed the typical mortuary funeral and cared for their loved ones at home.  Directed by Elizabeth Westrate.
We showed this film Jan 16, 2011.  Hosted by Aspen Heisey, Lay Chaplain, Unitarian Congregation of Guelph
For information: Aspen 519-822-8666  aspenh@rogers.com

    •    To view a 37 sec trailer for this Documentary -
http://www.pbs.org/pov/afamilyundertaking/
 

PRESS RELEASE FOR APRIL 10, 2011

FUNERAL DIRECTOR HAS HER FINGER ON THE PULSE OF DEATH
Caring for the Dead:  A Spiritual Undertaking

On Sunday morning at 10:30, April 10, there will be an unusual speaker for a Sunday church service, at the Unitarian Congregation of Guelph, 122 Harris St. in Guelph, Ontario.
There will be music, meditation, a children’s story, and all the usual Sunday morning things, but the speaker will be a Funeral Director. Her talk is titled: CARING FOR THE DEAD: A SPIRITUAL UNDERTAKING.

Kory McGrath (Toronto-based) considers Funeral Directing a calling that began as a girl, with personal experiences which eventually led her into a funeral service career.  Some years later, when her spiritual journey intersected with her career, she chose an alternative branch of funeral directing.  McGrath wants to inspire people to have farther-ranging conversations about end-of-life experiences.  And judging by the interest, she has her finger on the pulse of something that is getting stronger.  Her talk will encompass a growing interest in how families are learning to care for their own dead.

Ms. McGrath will explore some potent questions:  “How have we lost our way in caring for our dead and why is it important, not only to our spirituality but also to our humanity, that we rediscover this sacred rite of passage?  Historically, we all cared for our own, there was no "business" about it.
“Why aren't we encouraging families to have more input, to be more participatory? Why aren't we walking alongside them in their journey, not 'directing' it. Why are we resilient to the greening of our industry? We should be leading it.”  www.dailyundertaker.com

And McGrath is certainly doing her part to help lead it.  She is on the Board of Directors for the Perinatal Bereavement Services of Ontario helping the organization with ideas on how to help its membership memorialize the babies they have lost, in a more meaningful way.
She is also an Ambassador with the David Suzuki Foundation leading workshops that help organizations green their workplaces.  This ties in with her interest in Green Burial and home-based funerals.
Last year in Toronto, Kory guided one of the 100-plus tours offered in Jane’s Walk (in honor of Jane Jacobs) a city walk called Funeral Parlours & Burial Grounds: Death And Life In The City.  She makes a case for the importance of Funeral Homes in our city, how they are a significant touchstones in our neighborhoods.  Touchstones for our own mortality, and compassion.  
http://www.nowtoronto.com/news/story.cfm?content=174641

Ms. McGrath’s website:  The Remember Network

end of article....
_____________________________________________________________________
Blurb from our church newsletter:
April 10 CARING FOR THE DEAD: A SPIRITUAL UNDERTAKING
 
What if you were asked to care for your own dead? Would you? What leads a person to want to care for the dead?
 
Some people are born into the "business" of funeral service, and the others, so they say, are called to it. And sometimes, we are just plain asked (or expected) to do it. Historically, we all cared for our own, there was no "business" about it. How have we lost our way in caring for our dead and why is it important, not only to our spirituality but also to our humanity, that we rediscover this sacred rite of passage?
 
In this talk, we will hear the personal experiences of a girl who was called to caring for the dead and eventually chose the alternative path after having had many years to reflect on a funeral service career and intersecting spiritual journey.
 
Service Leader: Aspen Heisey
Speaker: Kory McGrath