Resource Library



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."

https://agingwithdignity.org





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





"Leon's Home Funeral"  is a montage of photographs set to music of the home funeral of our Penny Rhodes' father.  Some of these photographs can be seen in our "Home Funeral Photos" page:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A4nl-7prp2A









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":

     http://FinalRights.org 





 "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  





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