How to access affordable cremation and funeral services?
At Potter’s Field Funerals, we understand the importance of honouring your loved ones with dignity and respect. Our commitment lies in providing compassionate and affordable cremation and funeral services in Melbourne and throughout Victoria. Join us as we navigate through the various elements involved in planning a funeral, offering insights and guidance to create a meaningful and memorable tribute to your cherished memories.
Timing Farewells: Exploring the Duration of Funerals
The duration of funerals varies greatly depending on the style and degree of ritual involved.
In most cases, traditional funeral service would be reasonable to at least allow 2 hours to attend a simple service and brief gathering (cup of tea) afterwards – not including travel.
Religious ceremonies can be much longer in duration. A Catholic or Orthodox mass may take 60 to 90 minutes, and then be followed by a ‘committal’ service at a cemetery or crematorium – allow half a day.
If you are going to attend a funeral, it is reasonable to contact family or the funeral director to get an indication of the type of service and expected time frames. At Potter’s Field Funerals, our best funeral directors in Melbourne will take care of all the details, and provide you with support when you need it most.
Funeral Attendance Protocol
If a funeral is advertised ahead of time (for example, in a newspaper or on a newspaper site, Facebook, or a funeral home company/ Funeral Director website) then the funeral is considered to be ‘public’. You don’t need a specific invitation to attend a public funeral.
If, on the other hand, a family wishes to have a private funeral service then the details of the funeral are generally not made public in the normal ways. Sometimes a ‘death notice’, as opposed to a ‘funeral notice’, is published to let people know about the death. Death notices will often say clearly that the funeral is a private affair. In that case, it would not be appropriate for you to attend unless specifically invited by family members.
Exploring the Standard Start Time for Funerals
There are no special times of the day when funerals commence. Availability of crematoriums chapels is often scheduled on the hour or on the half hour etc, but this is really just about internal organisation at these facilities.
Similarly, the timing of graveside services in cemeteries might follow a schedule created by the cemetery operator to ensure separation of different services in time during any particular day.
Timing of services at churches are more often worked out between the clergy and the funeral director taking into account the families preferences.
No matter what time is set for a funeral it is (normally) never the case that it will commence before that time. Equally, out of respect for the family, funerals rarely commence after the appointed time – these are once in a lifetime events and being on time is important.
Navigating Cremation Planning Steps
1. How long does the average cremation take?
The time taken to actually cremate (burn) the body of a deceased person is generally from 45 to 90 minutes. Variation in time generally depends on the size of the individual.
2. When you cremate a loved one do you still have a funeral?
Cremating the remains of a deceased person is a practical necessity. Having a traditional funeral service is a social custom that meets emotional needs. Most people want (and feel the need) to have some form of ceremony to acknowledge the death of a friend or family member. You can learn more about this in our blog – Are funerals becoming less common?
3. Where does the cremation take place?
We have all seen images of cremation on open pyres in movies – be it vikings in olden times or Hindu rituals in present day India. However, in Australia actual cremations can only take place legally in official crematoriums.
These facilities have modern (industrial) furnaces specifically destined to accommodate the body of only one person at a time.
At Potter’s Field Funerals, we provide affordable cremation and funeral services throughout Victoria, at the cemetery of your choice. Whether you prefer a modern funeral service or a quiet cremation, we can help you plan and conduct funerals of every kind.
Explore more about affordable cremations and funeral services on our website or call us at (03) 9568 4047.
Written by Kevin Hartley
About the author:
Kevin Hartley has been involved in every aspect of the funeral industry for 30 years. He focuses now on promoting sustainable funeral practices, natural burial grounds and has a passion for encouraging people to participate in truly meaningful end-of-life practices and events. His writings combine years of practical experience with formal psychological insights.
Recent Comments