Mike Reynolds, Celebrant and General Manager for Mackey Funerals and Cremations
When I was a child my grandmother, who lived with our family for many years, would often tell me, “Mikey remember, you preach your funeral as you live your life. Make sure you preach a good one!” These words, from the most influential Godly person in my life, were her way of telling me that what I do in life matters and will be celebrated when the time comes for my friends and family to remember me.
Choosing a career of serving others as a Pastor and a Funeral Director has given me an in-person view of the truth my grandmother shared with me. Over the past 30 years serving as a Pastor and the past 10 years in funeral service, I have witnessed the transformation of traditional funeral services as they have evolved into what we refer to as “A Celebration of Life Service.”
Celebration of life has become a more normalized way of remembering a loved one even in our traditional religious settings. Eighty one percent of families who have planned an end of life service for a loved one have stated the service has been more meaningful and helpful when the service is personalized to reflect the individual’s unique life and their impacts on family and community.
With this said, how do you want to be celebrated? We often avoid the inevitable conversation of talking about our end of life affairs. As a professional in funeral service care, I cannot emphasize enough the benefit of Pre-Arranging your end of life services. The benefit and protection a pre-arrangement plan gives to a families financially, emotionally and physically cannot be measured in any tangible way. Pre-Arranging truly blesses families as they make final arrangements for a loved one.
Beyond the financial security pre-arranging can give your family, taking time to communicate the way you want to be remembered and celebrated with your family is just as valuable. As a Celebrant for our family of funeral homes, I am blessed with the opportunity to walk with over 100 families a year as we plan a loved one’s “Celebration of Life Service” together. The emphasis I stress when walking with each family is PERSONALIZATION. We focus on celebrating the uniqueness of each loved one in a unique way.
The following is a list of questions that can get the conversation started:
- The first question to ask yourself is, on any ordinary day, what would your perfect day be? What music would you listen to? What foods and drinks would you enjoy? What sights and scenes would you want to see? What activities would you engage in? Who would you want to share this day with? Share your answer with your family
- Secondly, what are your favorite things? TV shows, books, activities, sports teams, foods, etc. Share your answers with your family.
- Lastly, how do you want to be remembered? What legacy do you want your family to remember and continue sharing with others? Again, share your answer with your family, or record answers in a pre-planning guide, such as the one we offer.
As my grandmother said, “You preach your funeral as you live your life.” Take time to write down your responses to the three questions I encouraged you to answer. Expand on them as much as you would like and help your family celebrate you! This will be one of the greatest gifts you can give to your family. Celebrate A Life!
