For Information / Links Specifically About Green Burials, Please Go To Our Page "A Case For Green Burials"
Information About After Death Care:
Organizations, Guide Books & Websites
CROSSINGS One of the first organizations in this country to deal with and support caring for our own at death. Founder & Workshop Leader: Beth Knox at 301-593- 5451 www.Crossings.net (site for training manual: “Crossings: Caring for Our Own at Death” as well as workshop schedule)
MANUAL & GUIDE FOR SOUTHEAST PENNSYLVANIA: “When a Loved One Dies Things You Should Know” by Penny Rhodes & Arian Hungaski Penny can be reached at her email address: pennyrho@aol.com or by phone: 610-756-6253. Penny has also recently made a collage of her father's home funeral and can be found on YouTube at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A4nl-7prp2A
FINAL PASSAGES www.FinalPassages.org "Green and Loving Family-Directed
Home Funerals" Jerrigrace Lyons, California
UNDERTAKEN WITH LOVE: A HOME FUNERAL GUIDE FOR CONGREGATIONS AND COMMUNITIES comes from the group UNDERTAKEN WITH LOVE:
http://undertakenwithlove.org This comprehensive guide book can be bought through the mail or downloaded for free. It is a collaborative effort by people from all parts of the country and one of the best guide books out there. For the guide book itself, go to: http://undertakenwithlove.org/?page_id=104
LAST RIGHTS OF CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA: CREATING A HOME FUNERAL www.LastRights.info Even though this site deals with specifics of Central Pennsylvania (and does it very well), it has a very good page which succinctly lays out what the most important legal actions are that must be carried out in a home funeral www.LastRights.info/DIY.html This is found under their "Making "Arrangements tab.
HOME FUNERAL DIRECTORY HomeFuneralDirectory.com Site offering a map showing where, state by state, Home Funeral & Green Burial groups are located in this country. Also offered, a free "eBook: Checklist for Planning a Home Funeral" at :
www.HomeFuneral.info/archives/39
Other sites associated with Donna Belk and Sandy Booth: http://www.crossingcircle.org and http://homefuneral.info
*** FIVE WISHES is " ... the most widely used advance directive or living will in America. It is often called the “living will with a heart and soul” because it includes the things that matter the most. Unlike most other advance directives, it is easy to use and understand. Caring for people with a serious illness involves more than providing the best medical care. It means helping them to maintain their human dignity. That’s where we come in."
FUNERAL CONSUMERS ALLIANCE "... is a nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting a consumer's right to choose a meaningful, dignified, affordable funeral." http://www.funerals.org
* " Before I Go, You Should Know" - Funeral Planning Kit " ... an end-of-life planning kit. ... with state-specific Living Will and other advance medical directives and a 16-page write-in booklet ..." can be ordered in the Bookstore of The Funeral Consumers Alliance website. http://www.funerals.org
This is a very complete planning kit which will tell others exactly what your wishes are about your after-death care.
NATIONAL HOME FUNERAL ALLIANCE The National Home Funeral Alliance: "We are a group of home funeral advocates all across the United States who are forming an alliance for the purpose of educating the consumer about the intrinsic value of a home funeral." http://www.HomeFuneralAlliance.org
GREEN BURIAL COUNCIL is an "organization working to encourage
environmentally sustainable death care and the use of burial as a new means of protecting natural areas. " On this site you can find Green Burial Cemeteries listed by state to help you find one near you. http://www.greenburialcouncil.org
A SACRED MOMENT www.ASacredMoment.com "A Sacred Moment is a unique
funeral service empowering families and friends to honor the passing of a
loved one through a home funeral vigil, green burial or life celebration
service." Char Barrett Everett, Washington
NATURAL TRANSITIONS www.NaturalTransitions.org "Funeral Guidance - Our
mission is to educate and support families who choose to care for their own
dead, helping them to make choices that are more meaningful, affordable,
and environmentally conscious." Karen van Vuuren Boulder, Colorado
Natural Transitions is now offering a magazine called "Natural Transitions
Magazine: Sharing Conscious, Holistic Approaches to Dying, Death and
After Death Care" http://www.naturaltransitionsmagazine.com
SACRED CROSSINGS, 'BRINGING FUNERALS HOME' "... empowers families and
friends to reclaim the lost art and healing ritual of a home funeral" http://www.SacredCrossings.com Olivia Bareham serves the Los angeles area.
FUNERAL ETHICS ORGANIZATION "Ethical dealings respect the feelings and
emotions of the bereaved, provide respect to the deceased's body, and refrain from taking economic advantage of consumers making funeral or memorial purchases." http://www.funeralethics.org Lisa Carlson, Executive Director
An interesting page/link about Lisa and reviews of her book "Caring for the Dead - Your Final Act of Love" (listed below) is
http://www.upperaccess.com/experts/carlson.html
SACRED CEREMONIES LTD "Providing Spiritual Guidance Throughout Life's
Transitions" includes Home Funeral Guidance Lucy Basler NW Wisconsin
http://www.sacredceremoniesltd.org
THRESHOLD CARE CIRCLE "Integrating after-death care into family and community life" This group also offers an advanced planning workbook, "My Final Wishes," which can be ordered on their website. They are centered in Viroqua, Wisconsin http://www.thresholdcarecircle.org
MINNESOTA THRESHOLD NETWORK "A Meeting Place For All Who Are Interested in Topics of Death and Dying" Minneapolis, MN
http://mnthresholdnetwork.wordpress.com/
AFTER DEATH HOME CARE "Helping people care for their loved one at home in the hours or days after death." This site includes a new 18-minute video about home funerals made by Merilynne. Merilynne Rush, Home Funeral Guide, Ann Arbor MI http://www.afterdeathhomecare.com
NATURAL END- PROVIDER NETWORK www.NaturalEnd.com "Connecting
families with funeral directors, service providers and cemeteries pledged to
offer more natural funeral options in North America"
Magazines, Newspapers & Web Articles
Huffington Post 25 January 2013:
“Home Funerals Grow as Americans Skip The Mortician for Do-It-Yourself After-Death Care" By Jaweed Kaleem
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/25/home-funerals-death-mortician_n_2534934.html
"Death and Dying: How To Plan a Home Funeral" by Leah Zerbe Interviewing Our Penny Rhodes, on NHNE website ( New Heaven, New Earth) http://nhne-pulse.org/how-to-plan-a-home-funeral
New York Times Article: "Reviving a Ritual of Tending to the Dead"
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/13/nyregion/13burial.html?_r=2
"Recycle Yourself: Being Green in Life and Death" by Donna Larsen
http://cosozo.com/article/recycle-yourself-being-green-life-and
"Home Funerals Making a Comeback in NJ" NJ.com Article about the workshop given in Princeton by Laurie Powsner, Executive Director of the Funeral Consumers Alliance of Princeton, and A Natural Undertaking's Cheryl Clark and Eleanor Dillard: http://www.nj.com/mercer/index.ssf/2011/04/home_funerals_making_a_combac.html
"The Call: A Community Coming Together for Viroqua Teens" in the Winter 2010 Issue of "Lilipoh: The Spirit of Life" A very personal story about a community in
Wisconsin carrying out home funerals for their teenagers who died suddenly. Written by Charlene Elderkin of Threshold Care Circle, this article can be found at: http://www.lilipoh.com/articles/2010Issues/Winter10/The_Call.aspx
Business Week Magazine Article "The Greening of Death" Nov 2011:
http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/the-greening-of-death-11032011.html%0D
Videos & Movies
"A Family Undertaking - Home Funerals in America,” a POV PBS Documentary by Elizabeth Webstrate, Fanlight Productions, 1-800-937-4113, info@fanlight.com www.PBS.org/POV/POV2004/afamilyundertaking
“Passing Through Our Hands” "a Home Funeral guide video on how to provide after- death care of the body" www.PassingThroughOurHands.com
“Departures” 2009 Academy Award nominated foreign film directed by Yojiro Takita
depicting a very beautiful ceremony surrounding caring for the dead.
"The Most Excellent Dying of Theodore Jack Heckelman" by Nancy Jewel Poer:
"A heart-warming full-length documentary of the courageous dying of a man determined to die consciously and who, in so doing, gave manifold blessings to everyone around him ..." "http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1623170
"A Natural Undertaking" on TV, Radio & YouTube
Philadelphia CBS Nightly News: Jim Donovon's video "Eye on Your Side" story on Home Funerals aired in September 2009:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ccN5pKaJa3U
Berks Community TV: Circle of Life Coalition Panel Discussion on Home Funerals and Green Burials: "Unveiling the Truth About Home Funerals" 5 November 2009:
www.bctv.org/vmix_03f8b1bc-c19e-54e4-9f66-a78b2d4cc4da.html
Columbia University Radio program by Joe Danielewicz "The Changing Funeral Business" includes interviews with our Penny Rhodes and The Crossings' Beth Knox (both in segment 2) : http://web.jrn.columbia.edu/studentwork/radio/masters/2011/index.asp
TV & Radio Programs
KQED TV in California: A homey, well done and informative piece on Green Burial featuring Joe Sehee, President of the Green Burial Council:
http://kqed.org/quest/television/view/114
Backstory Radio, a program of the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities,
28 May 2010 "Grave Matters: A History of Death and Mourning"
http://backstoryradio.org/2010/05/grave-subjects-a-history-of-death-and-mourning
KSTP TV MInneapolis/St Paul feature news story regarding the home funeral which Heather Halen held for her husband, as well as a snip from Heather's testimony before the Minnesota Legislature about the value of her experience: http://www.KSTP.com/news/stories/S1456501.shtml?CAT=1
Radio Times w/ Marty Moss-Coane on Philadelphia NPR: " ... the Green Burial movement with guests Dr. Billy Campbell, Founder and President of the Memorial Ecosystems and Ramsey Creek Preserve, the first green cemetery in the United States, and Mark Harris, the author of Grave Matters: A Journey Through the Modern Funeral Industry to a Natural Way of Burial.” :
http://whyy.org/cms/radiotimes/2011/09/29/green-burial/
Books :
"Grave Matters: A Journey through the Modern Funeral Industry to a Natural
Way of Burial" by Mark Harris www.gravematters.us
"Caring for the Dead - Your Final Act of Love" by Lisa Carlson Lisa's revised edition
is "Final Rights: Reclaiming The American Way of Death":
"Dealing Creatively With Death - A Manual of Death Education & Simple Burial"
by Ernest Morgan
"Living Consciously, Dying Gracefully: A Journey with Cancer and Beyond"
by Nancy Manahan & Becky Bohan
"The Natural Death Handbook" by Josefine Speyer & Stephanie Wienrich and "The
New Natural Death Handbook" by Nicholas Albery & Stephanie Wienrich
"Final Gifts: Understanding the Special Awareness, Needs, & Communications of
the Dying " by Maggie Callanan & Patricia Kelley
"Living Into Dying: A Journal of Spiritual and Practical Deathcare for Family
and Community" by Nancy Jewel Poer
“Talking About Death Won’t Kill You” by Virginia Morris
“Sacred Dying - Creating Rituals for Embracing the End of Life” by Megory
Anderson
“Remembering Well: Rituals for Celebrating Life and Mourning Death” by Sarah
York
“Final Passage” by Barbara Harris Whitfield
“Intimate Death” by Marie De Hennezel
“Love Lives On” by Louise Lagrand
“The Final Crossing” by Scott Eberle
“Dying Well” by Ira Byock
"The Best Care Possible" by Ira Byock
“The Four Things That Matter Most” by Ira Byock
"Knocking On Heaven's Door, The Path to A Better Way Of Death" by Katy Butler
New York Times Best Seller
"It's OK To Die" by Monica Williams-Murphy MD and Kristen Murphy