How I Help

Flourish meeting

How I can help you with your special service

I will facilitate your service on the day after –

  • Problem solving
  • Decision making
  • Showing you options
  • Producing a plan
  • Liasing with you and your family
  • Liasing with your funeral director

At this huge and often overwhelming time my key role is to help you plan a ceremony that you would like and to facilitate that for you. This involves managing the ceremony for you including the timing and ‘holding’ the tender emotion of this time. I will be liasing with the Funeral Director to ensure a smooth overall flow of events.

You may have come to me via a recommendation from a friend or via the funeral director. I will meet with you ahead of time to help you plan this ceremony that will honour your loved, their legacy and their memory going forward. I understand this is a costly time in so many ways and I am really happy to discuss my costs with you at this point.

Prior to our meeting it would be great if you can have thought about your loved one – the ‘essence’ of them as a person, their story, beliefs, hobbies, interests, anecdotes and together we would consider things like:

  • Who you would like to speak ?
  • Would you like any music / singing / to record this in any way?
  • Who you would like to read poems / readings / prayers? (I have a wide resource that I can help you with if need be)
  • Anything symbolic of your loved one that you may like to have eg photos / albums – something they made or created
  • Would you like to ‘set the scene’ with candles or flowers?
  • Would the family like to do something symbolic like plant something / light special candles of remembrance / release balloons etc?
  • Would you like to have a memorial book of some kind?
  • Would you like some kind of order of service?

I really encourage you to be as creative as you like and I will work with you to weave in your and your loved ones views on life, spirituality and faith.

Together we can work out ‘a contingency plan’ should someone go over time or you suddenly feel too overwhelmed on the day to speak.

After that first meeting I will come back to you with a clear overview of the ceremony which we will then follow up via email or phone. And we will talk about what happens on the day of the funeral and follow up.

I really appreciate you considering me for this role. It would be a great honour and privilege to facilitate a ceremony for you, your family, friends and community – to be present with you and to ‘hold’ the moment as you grieve and farewell your loved one, creating a place of trust and safety for you to do this.

Need help? Contact me for more info

Please call me on the number below if you want to talk more about a ceremony, or alternatively you can email me on jennie@flourish.family

Thank you for everything you did to make Mum’s funeral the celebration that it was. Not only is Jennie beautiful – she is gracious, eloquent, patient and empathetic. She has a deep faith, respect for the family’s wishes and is relaxed in the midst of loss and sadness. Although there is time pressure when preparing for a funeral, Jennie organises everything with dignity and inspiration.
— Joanne Wills, Auckland