Home Funeral Vigils & Green Burials - Shoreline Library Talk February 5, 2009

In celebration of the life we live as caretakers of this earth and the legacy we leave behind, A Sacred Moment is offering a free community service talk on home funeral vigils and green burials as a positive environmental, emotional and economic option.

Home Funeral Vigils are also known as at-home funerals, in-home funerals, family-directed home funerals, home-based funerals, or wakes. A loved one's body remains at home (or is brought back home) following death for a period of time prior to burial or cremation. Quite simply, a Home Funeral Vigil is one that is held in a private home instead of a funeral home. The deceased remains in their home typically for a period of one to three days. Family members bath, dress and drape the body or can ask for assistance. Instead of being embalmed, the body may remain home lying in a natural state using other options. Final disposition of the body may be either by cremation or burial.

Green Burials are also known as natural burials, eco-friendly burials, and earth-friendly funerals. A green burial simply involves an unembalmed body, a biodegradable container, and a vaultless grave. One's remains lie in the earth, in a vault-free grave. Embalming, which is not required for burial (green or otherwise), is avoided. No toxic chemicals, metal caskets, or concrete are used. The deceased is buried in a cloth shroud or in a simple casket made from biodegradable materials. Burials are in "green" areas of traditional cemeteries, in woodland settings in "natural cemeteries," or on private or rural lands. Native fieldstones, set flush to the ground, function as headstones. Markers also can be shrubs or trees.

Char Barrett, founder of A Sacred Moment, licensed funeral director and home funeral guide will present about home funeral vigils and green burials, family rights and support, as well as the laws and regulations. For more information on home funeral vigils and green burials visit www.ASacredMoment.com

Free to the public.

Official Website: http://www.asacredmoment.com