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- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Seeking a Green Burial option for Western
Massachusetts
The
2008
Annual Meeting of the
Funeral Consumers Alliance of Western Massachusetts
featured a
talk on Bringing
Green Burial to Western Massachusetts by Mark Harris, author of Grave Matters: A Journey through the Modern
Funeral Industry to a Natural Way of Burial. He
presented "a
visual tour of this country's growing green burial movement."
Green burial, also called natural burial, is the most ecologically
friendly way of disposing of one's body after death. It is also more
traditional than the type of burial conventionally used today, as prior
to the 1860s bodies were buried without embalming, steel caskets or
concrete vaults. The talk was followed by Q&A, a short
business meeting, and
book signing.
MORE on our new special page:
Green
Burial in Western
Massachusetts,
Questions and Answers
Read a Boston Globe
article on Green Burial in Massachusetts
http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2009/03/05/going_green/
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Check out the following:
Did you know . . . ?
• Most individuals never share their funeral or burial wishes with
their family members. FCAWM members receive forms and
instructions on how to communicate this information, sparing relatives
from difficult, expensive decisions.
• The average cost of a conventional funeral in the U.S. is now over
$6,500 — before you get to the cemetery!
FCAWM members learn how to purchase simpler services for a
fraction of the cost.
• Embalming and fancy caskets are not required for cremation or burial.
FCAWM members avoid unnecessary procedures and expenses by
pre-planning.
• Your safety deposit box is a poor place to store your funeral
instructions.
FCAWM members learn who to notify before the time of death.
• When a body is not displayed, memorial services can be held almost
anywhere.
FCAWM members learn about various options, including
community
halls, churches, synagogues and parks.
FAQ - Questions we have been asked about
FCAWM
Q: Is the book Dealing Creatively with Death (14th
edition) still available?
A: Yes;
contact
FCA in South Burlington, Vermont, at 1-800-765-0107.
Q: Does
FCAWM
hold final arrangements
documents that might have been filed in the past by members of the late
Springfield Memorial
Society?
A: It is
not
clear to us whether this organization ever did maintain such files, but
we do not have any files of that kind now.
Q: Does
FCAWM
have any special or discount arrangements with funeral providers for
its members?
A: No;
our
priority at this time is to provide pricing information from area
funeral homes through our biennial survey.
Planning
Ahead -
THE NEED FOR ADVANCE PLANNING
Have
you considered what
immediate decisions must be made by your family when you die?
Have you and your family discussed these decisions and
arrived
at an understanding?
Do your present plans provide for memorial or funeral
arrangements that you and your family would really want?
If your answer to any of these questions is “no,” you may
not be
facing the eventuality of death realistically. When death occurs
in a family that has done no advance planning, the survivors may accept
conventional and costly funeral arrangements because of social
pressure, emotional stress, or lack of time.
Planning ahead is the most loving gift you can give to your family and
friends. By making plans now, you can make your last wishes known
and ease the burden on your survivors. Then, instead of having to
figure out what you might have wanted and how to pay for it, your
family can focus on grieving their loss and celebrating your life.
About Us - FUNERAL ADVICE YOU CAN TRUST
The Funeral Consumers Alliance of Western Massachusetts is a non-profit
educational organization dedicated to helping our neighbors make
funeral or memorial arrangements that are dignified, meaningful and
affordable.
We achieve this goal through consumer education outreach, including
group presentations, funeral home price surveys, our newsletter and
other printed materials, and individual consultations. We serve
primarily residents in the four counties of Western
Massachusetts: Berkshire, Franklin, Hampden and Hampshire.
Founded in 1959 and incorporated as the Springfield Memorial Society
(later known as the Memorial Society of Western Massachusetts), we
changed our name in 2001 to emphasize our consumer focus. FCA of
Western Massachusetts is one of over 100 similar groups across the
country, supported by our affiliation with the national Funeral
Consumers
Alliance, Inc.
(http://www.funerals.org) whose national office is in
Vermont. This affiliation allows reciprocal arrangements for
members who travel in or move to other parts of the country.
We are run solely by volunteers, and have no attachment to the funeral
industry or any religious group. Our membership is open to all.
We
can
provide information that you will need for advance
planning and that will help you to put your beliefs into practice. We
do not presume to change or interfere in any way with existing beliefs
or ceremonies.
Other than information, we provide no services. We do not, ourselves,
provide funeral or memorial
services, care of the body,
disposition of human remains (burial, cremation or donation) or any
type of insurance, trust, or other financial arrangement to cover the
cost of such services. Nor do we normally negotiate on behalf of
individual consumers with those who do provide such services.
We do not charge for the information we provide. We ask only for
donations to help our Alliance cover its costs.
Because we do not have 501(c)(3) status, donations are
not generally tax deductible. A
donation does entitle you to the benefits of membership.
The Membership
Page describes
the benefits of membership and provides links to the application form
as well as a list of helpful brochures that are available.
The Providers Page
presents
information about funeral homes,
crematories, and retail
casket outlets serving Western Massachusetts and an introduction
to the basic information
you should have before contacting these providers as part of
planning final arrangements for yourself or others. Learn how to arrange for one of our members to speak to
your group on the topic of "What to Know ... Before you Go".
The Links Page
provides
access to the wealth of information including that on the national Funeral Consumers Alliance
website.
Both
our federal
and state
website links include very helpful
consumer oriented sections in
addition to the actual regulations and laws which govern what funeral
directors, crematory and cemetery operators can and cannot do in the
Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
Additional links lead to information on many other topics related to
end of life issues.
Current Trustees
Doug Bamshaw,
Springfield
Don Bourcier, Wilbraham
Carol Coan, Greenfield
Cecelia
Lewonchuk, Springfield
Will Thayer, Springfield
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