We all know what your typical idea of a funeral home conjures up in your mind. 

Caskets, chapel seating, the smell of funeral flowers, maybe a faint smell of coffee, warm lighting…

And this version of a funeral home has worked for some time now. 

Now, as we explore the idea of what a funeral home could be in the future, many new images begin to emerge.

Visions of a new kind of funeral home

As someone who has been writing for the funeral profession for more than a decade now, and someone who is also a practitioner of the healing arts, I propose we entertain the idea of a funeral home becoming a healing sanctuary. 

Kind of like a church, but a church not just for the living. 

And actually, can we skip the word church while we’re at it, and cut out the restrictive religious beliefs? Instead, a funeral home can invite all religions and spiritual paths. 

That would mean  a funeral home isn’t a funeral home with services and professionals anymore. 

It’s a sanctuary for transformational healing.

A place you can come to heal around death. 

A place you can come to grieve, and to be held.

A place to venerate the dead, and celebrate the dead, without all the tackiness and unnecessary-ness.

A place to ask questions about death for those who feel lost or scared on the subject.

A place to gather with the community and help each other heal from loss that leaves us feeling hopeless.

A place that doesn’t oversell or undermine our humanity. 

A place where we can bring our fragile, tender, vulnerable selves and feel truly held and not taken advantage of. 

What it will take to create this vision

This is my wish for a funeral home. And now the question presents itself: is this possible? Is it possible to shift business models and foundations and traditions and become something our communities need so badly?

My humble, perhaps naive, and certainly hopeful answer is: yes, yes it is. 

With proper education, leaders who hold a shared vision, and financial support, anything is possible.

We are more powerful than we can truly imagine, and when we believe something can happen, it will. Especially when we are committed to a vision. Nothing can stop us!

What stands in our way of this vision?

There are certainly policies and things that do stand in the way of this vision. There are also financial obstacles that must be overcome. And most of all, there is not a solidification of funeral professionals who are committed to the same vision. 

Sometimes, I feel like we’re all forgetting that we are more powerful together. And it’s not until we come together as a national or even international community that things will shift. 

I also see that so many people are committed to outdated traditions and “the way we’ve always done it” because they’re tired, overworked, and simply not available to provide any more energy towards their funeral home than they already have.

Trusting the younger generations

So here’s an idea – why don’t we let the younger generations bring the new era? Why don’t we trust them? Why don’t we guide them, and teach them what we know, but stay open to the vastly different way they see the funeral profession? What if we honored the younger generations, and trusted them, and allowed them to do what they will already do when we’re gone… radically transform the funeral profession? 

What if we humble ourselves, put our hands up, and admit that we simply don’t know what client families need anymore because it’s evolving everyday, and there are mass transitions taking place?

Now there’s where the magic can happen.

I know this post is going to ruffle some feathers. 

And to that I say, you’re welcome.

We need some feathers ruffled around here. 

Let the ruffles begin.

How do you envision the funeral home of the future? We’d love to hear from you in the comments below.

Krystal Penrose

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