O, Holy night! The stars are brightly shining
It is the night of our dear Savior’s birth

O night divine, O night when Christ was born
O night, O Holy night, O night divine!

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“A servant’s attitude guided by Christ leads to a significant life”

There has been an explosion of streaming channels available to the public in the past couple of years.  And, with that growth of channels comes the need for programming.  So, it is probably not a surprise that we are finding more programming available in all types of genres  — including a genre that seems to be “Death Care documentary”.

On Wednesday, November 26, HBO Max will premier a three-part documentary from the Investigation Discovery Channel.  The title of the series is “The Rocky Mountain Mortician Murder” and you can access information on the program, including a trailer preview, here.

And, here is short article from Deadline titled “Investigation Discovery Explores Rocky Mountain Mortician Murder” that may give you more insight as to the basis for this production.

Here is the “Find a Grave” site, including the obituary, of Colorado funeral director Byron Paul Griffy, whose 2012 death is part of the subject of the series.

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“A servant’s attitude guided by Christ leads to a significant life”

Dwight Thompson, a seasoned social worker, psychotherapist, and former funeral director with more than 20 years of experience in mental health and grief care will highlight the monthly interactive Peer Support meeting for September.  The online peer support meeting for funeral service workers sponsored by the Cremation Association of North America (CANA) will take place tomorrow night, Tuesday, September 16.

To learn more about the Peer Support meetings and learn how to participate click here.

According to a press release sent out by CANA, “Stress impacts your brain’s ability to file and refine all the important details from your busy day in realtime.  When you finally get the chance to decompress after work, your brain attempts to sort the information it couldn’t properly process earlier.  This can lead to mistakes:   a mental reminder to have the conversation with the receptionist accidentally transforms thought into action—as if you’ve already had the conversation.”

The press release continues with this information, According to Dwight (Thompson), many funeral directors are experiencing the painful consequences of minor, stress-induced errors.  “I have seen colleagues reprimanded for mistakes that could have been prevented if we recognized the overwhelming pressure and workload they carry.  In these situations, the issue of stress is completely ignored, and the employee is blamed for something the brain simply can’t handle under such conditions,” explains Thompson.  “Funeral professionals need support with relevant checks and balances to ensure that they can cope with the intense realities of stress and its impact on their mental and emotional well-being.”

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“A servant’s attitude guided by Christ leads to a significant life”

Tomorrow night is June 17th and it is the 3rd Tuesday of the month so that brings us the Cremation Association of North America (CANA) sponsored online Peer Support meeting.

The monthly Peer Support meetings are for all funeral home, cemetery, crematory, and other Death Care workers.

According to information from CANA, tomorrow night’s Peer Support meeting will be led by Glenda Stansbury who will facilitate “a discussion for funeral professionals on managing through chaos”.

Again, according to the CANA information Ms. Stansbury is “. .  a professional educator,Marketing & Development Director of InSight Books,and Co-Founder and Dean of InSight Institute Certified Celebrant Program.  Glenda Stansbury is uniquely skilled in facilitating this peer support meeting on navigating uncertainty and finding resilience.”

The meeting is live and online through a Zoom link.  It will take place on Tuesday, June 17, at 8 pm Eastern Time, 7 pm Central Time, and 5 pm Pacific Time.

For more information and to learn how to participate please click here.

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“A servant’s attitude guided by Christ leads to a significant life”

I have to admit the subject kind of crept up on me faster than I thought because I had wanted to do a full-blown article on the value of the Mentor/Mentee relationship prior to this notice. . . .But, like a lot of things in my life – it didn’t get done in time!!  —  Maybe I need a mentor in “time management”!!!!

I wanted the article done because of how much the mentors in my life have meant to me.  As you may know, my father died when I was a teenager and many people in my small hometown wanted to make sure that my life had the appropriate life examples in it to make a difference to me as I grew older.

Yes, I had a local funeral director mentor and a funeral director mentor from my internship. . . .but I also had teacher mentors, church and faith mentors, a banker mentor.. . . .and over time even mentors who gave me confidence to do other things.  In a nutshell, I’ve learned that mentors are incredibly valuable in one’s life.

That brings me to the real subject of this afternoon’s Funeral Director Daily edition.  The Cremation Association of America’s (CANA) Peer Support meeting for tomorrow night is about Mentors and how they can help you. . . .Don’t miss it.

You can participate via Zoom and to learn how to access the meeting you can click here.  The event is scheduled for tomorrow, February 18, at 8:00 pm Eastern Time, 7:00 pm Central Time.

According to CANA’s information on tomorrow night’s meeting it will showcase how  “Mentors provide guidance and support to help the growth and development of their fellow professionals. Jeff Holcomb will bring his decades of commitment to the profession to talk about the power of peer support and mentorship. At Tuesday’s meeting, he’ll focus on the key role of a mentor in providing patience, compassion, and understanding in support of a mentee’s future.”

Related CANA News — CANA’s Cremation Symposium is just around the corner. . . Learn more about it here.

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“A servant’s attitude guided by Christ leads to a significant life”

It’s coming up on the 3rd Tuesday of the month and that signals that all funeral professionals can log in to learn and participate in the Zoom facilitated Cremation Association of North America’s (CANA) Peer Support event.

I find that tomorrow night’s event happens in a timely fashion as it preceeds the holiday season.  It focuses on “Grief” and supporting our own emotions while we are serving families.

Here’s what CANA says about the upcoming event in their own bulletin:

“As funeral professionals, we know that the common responses to grief are not linear. Grief brings sideways turns, unpredictability and huge obstacles, and no two journeys are the same. But sometimes, we forget to extend ourselves and our colleagues the same grace that we give our grieving families. We don’t have all the answers, especially when we’re facing our own mourning during challenging cases and community turmoil.”

CANA goes on to promote the event with this information:

“November Peer Support facilitator is Kelly Manion, Director of Consumer Marketing at Homesteaders Life Company. Kelly is a grief support specialist with nearly 25 years devoted to purpose-driven work and over a decade of experience in the funeral service profession. She offers valuable resources to those who are grieving. By providing space to talk about our grief, she’ll help us understand the unique ways people grieve and how to maintain our care for ourselves and our colleagues in the midst of it.”

CANA’s Peer Support Network will take place on Tuesday, November 19 at 8:00 pm Eastern Time, 7:00 pm Central Time, and 5:00 pm Pacific Time.  You can register and learn more information about this free event here.

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“A servant’s attitude guided by Christ leads to a significant life”

For the first time that I can remember, the Cremation Association of North America’s (CANA) Peer Support online meeting is asking all funeral workers to invite their spouse for tomorrow night’s group get-together.  According to a recent press release from CANA, here’s why:

“A funeral professional may be called upon as an event planner, a chauffeur, a makeup artist, an advisor on grief and accounting, and much more – wearing many hats during working hours. A funeral professional may also be a spouse, partner, companion, and parent. Finding time to wear all those additional hats can mean stress and strife in addition to love and joy.

Again according to the CANA press release, “Dwight EA Thompson facilitates a discussion on the unique challenges funeral professionals face to strike a balance. Prior to becoming a therapist specializing in couples counseling, Dwight spent 12 years as a funeral director and embalmer and understands the particular needs of a funeral professional in a relationship. Dwight brings his unique perspective to the March peer support meeting to talk about emotional tolerance and bonding between funeral professionals and their partners. That’s why, special to this meeting, partners are invited to join their funeral professional and participate in the conversation.”

The CANA Peer Support meeting will be taking place tomorrow, Tuesday, March 19, at 8 pm Eastern Time (7 pm Central, 5 pm Pacific).

For more information and/or to register and get login information click here.

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“A servant’s attitude guided by Christ leads to a significant life”