Thank you to everyone who shared their creative ideas for this new kind of virtual memorial service offering.
We just hosted ours online yesterday afternoon and it was a grand success. We featured beautiful "virtual choir" videos from our local Threshold Choir, one young lady sing for us, a client speaker, and several readings and remarks from our chaplains and bereavement team. We did not read names; we had a candle lighting ceremony and invited people to put up their photo of their loved one during a moment of silence. It was well-received and well-attended. We are pleased we offered this option instead of postponing it. This was offered as a one-hour long service.
Good luck to all of you who are planning your event!
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Isabel Yuriko Stenzel Byrnes LCSW MPH
Mission Hospice and Home Care
Bereavement Department Manager
www.missionhospice.orgSan Mateo, CA 94402 USA
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Original Message:
Sent: 06-05-2020 06:45
From: Susan Bruno
Subject: Virtual Remembrance Services
Our memorial service was a total of one hour, 1/2 hour with song and talk and 1/2 hour reading the 500 names. We always read names and toll a bell. We don't list the names as they often come in up to the minute we go live.
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Susan Bruno
Regional Program Director
Suncoast Hospice
Original Message:
Sent: 06-04-2020 19:30
From: Jeffrey Jones
Subject: Virtual Remembrance Services
Wonderful discussion. I have 3 questions: 1) How long (minutes) have your online zoom etc. or recorded services been verses your regular in person services. 2) How many organizations actually read the names of the deceased loved ones during the service? 3) If you do mention the names, how many actually have the names on a slide? Thanks. Jeffrey Jones
Jeffrey R. Jones, MDiv.
Spiritual Care Coordinator
Essentia Health St Mary's
East Range Hospice
901 9th Street North, Medical Arts Bldg, Suite #215, Virginia MN 55792
Phone: 218-749-7975, ex 7978 or 1 877-851-2213. Fax: 218-749-7991
jeffrey.jones@essentiahealth.org
Original Message:
Sent: 06-04-2020 11:05
From: Susan Bruno
Subject: Virtual Remembrance Services
Our organization conducted a Facebook Live Community Memorial Service last week. We sent out postcards to all of our family members and got some great press to let the community know about it. We held it in the chapel of our Care Center and limited the number of participants to 5. We asked people to send in the names of their loved ones for the reading of the names and bell tolling. We ended up with over 500 names being submitted. We also ended up with 477 live participants at the peak of the service. The comments sent in through the Facebook live feed were beautiful tributes to those who had died. We did a combination of song, readings and a speaker. It was extremely successful and we will do this again in the future.
To give you some perspective, our in person Community Memorial Services have dwindled in attendance with generally between 50-80 attendees and maybe the same number of names being read.
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Susan Bruno, LCSW
Regional Program Director
Suncoast Hospice
Original Message:
Sent: 06-03-2020 10:41
From: Nancy Faery
Subject: Virtual Remembrance Services
We are trying a live YouTube memorial.
invitations included:
- packets of forget-me-not seeds (our theme this year) they are hard to get and shipping took longer than anticipated.
- self address stamped envelopes, stamped confidential, as they will not be opened with the request to write a letter to deceased to be burned at the end of the service.
- have family member place a candle and picture of loved or object on a table during service.
Our Hospice House grounds as gorgeous so we are going to have bereavement and spiritual care counselors at various places on the grounds- using the 4 elements (air, water, earth and fire) to offer very short messages. A fire will culminate the memorial when we toss the letters in the fire.
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Rev. Nancy Faery, BCC-AHPCC, Director of Spiritual Care and Bereavement Services at Niagara Hospice
Original Message:
Sent: 06-02-2020 10:22
From: Jan Cowels
Subject: Virtual Remembrance Services
Good Morning,
We are also discussing the idea of a virtual remembrance service. I too, would appreciate your thinking on this, as we all navigate the year of "firsts"....We thought something live with some pieces prerecorded may work. The presenters could be in one space to speak (while respecting the physical distancing and number of people), to allow for more fluid presentation. All a work in progress.
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Jan Cowles
Original Message:
Sent: 06-02-2020 10:14
From: Diana Moore
Subject: Virtual Remembrance Services
Extending this conversation a bit... we have a Hospice Remembrance Service planned for September and the church where it would be happening is not taking messages or answering calls. Are others looking this far ahead to virtual or other ways of providing space and time for Remembering for families served? I appreciate the suggestions already mentioned - art memorial, candle walk, car parks, virtual services... I think offering a Zoom service might be the best way to maintain confidentiality and provide a place to gather. Thinking as I write, maybe organizing a car park at a local pond. Is there an environmentally friendly way to place tea lights on the water? One per family. Many Thanks for this forum of lovely beings!
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Diana Moore
Hospice Bereavement Coordinator
Central Vermont Home Health & Hospice
Barre, Vermont
Original Message:
Sent: 04-27-2020 20:34
From: Candice Wilkins
Subject: Virtual Remembrance Services
By the end of May it will be time for our quarterly remembrance service. But it doesn't look like we'll be able to conduct our service in person just yet...I wanted to check in: Has anyone thought of ways to conduct a remembrance service virtually?
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Candice Wilkins
Hinds Hospice
Manager, Center for Grief& Healing
Fresno, CA
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